A few years ago, nationally recognized trial consultant, Dr. Jill Huntley Taylor, was a contributor to our live seminar program and wrote an article for our newsletter outlining juror expectations in a medical malpractice trial. To identify these expectations, she uses the acronym “MEDIC” which stands for:
Medicine - whether or not the standard of care was met will be in dispute;
Education - education is really about communication - communication to the patient about their medical condition and treatment plan, and communication within a medical practice;
Documentation - jurors look for evidence of both communication and medical care in the medical documentation and tend to rely heavily on what was documented contemporaneously;
Informed consent - one specific aspect of communication to which jurors pay very close attention is the informed consent process and they want the patient to be informed about what the medical treatment entails and what to expect, including potential side effects and complications - an informed patient is an empowered patient, and;
Caring - jurors take all the information that they can gather about that professional and determine, “is this someone I would want caring for me?"
For a more in-depth discussion, read Dr. Huntley Taylor’s Sentinel article: Addressing Juror Expectations in Everyday Practice: MEDIC.
