Protecting the Airway and the Physician: Lessons from 214 Cases of Endotracheal Intubation Litigation
Table 1
Prevalence of factors mentioned in cases organized by outcome.
Factor
% Resolved with payment when factor present
% Resolved with payment when factor is not present
Esophageal perforation◉
77.8%
56.1%
Self-extubation◉
75.0%
56.7%
Delay in recognizing/Treating complication
73.1%
54.8%
Anoxic brain injury
67.5%
50.7%
Delayed intubation
64.7%
55.6%
Neglected past medical history
61.5%
56.7%
Additional surgery required for repair
61.4%
55.4%
Incorrect ET tube size◉
56.2%
57.1%
Employment/Income affected
58.8%
56.4%
Emergent intubation
58.9%
54.1%
Esophageal intubation
58.1%
56.8%
Permanent deficit
57.6%
52.2%
Prolonged attempt
57.4%
56.9%
Incorrect intubation (unspecified)
56.3%
57.1%
Death
55.6%
58.5%
Loss of consortium
55.0%
57.8%
Displaced tube◉
50.0%
57.2%
Traumatic intubation
47.1%
57.9%
Aspiration
46.7%
57.8%
Unnecessary
46.2%
57.7%
Other method should have been used
42.9%
58.5%
Deficit in informed consent
40.0%
58.8%
Hoarseness
36.4%
59.4%
Vocal cord damage◉
25.0%
58.1%
Tracheal stenosis◉
18.2%
59.1%
Cases “resolved with payment” refers to both settlements and plaintiff verdicts. “◉” = Occurred in <5% of cases in this analysis. = Statistically significant difference between case outcome when factor was present versus when factor was not present, as measured by chi-square test with two-tailed -value <0.05.
