Litigation Following Surgery for Acute Traumatic Facial Injuries

Introduction: The knowledge of malpractice claims after surgery for acute traumatic facial injuries can inform surgeons about potential litigation risks, case complications, and reasons for patient dissatisfaction.

Methods: The Westlaw Campus Research and LexisNexis legal databases were searched for all available court decisions associated with cases brought to suit following surgery for traumatic facial injuries. The plaintiff characteristics, date, location, specialty of the defendant, allegations, and adjudicated case outcomes were obtained from case documents and analyzed.

Results: There were 27 relevant judicial cases included between 1985 and 2023. The cases were tried in 16 different states, with New York having the greatest number of cases (25.9%). About half of the plaintiffs were male (51.9%), but the age was unknown in 55.6% of cases, while 29.6% were >18 years old and 14.8% were pediatric patients. The most common method of injury was a motor vehicle accident (44.4%), followed by assault (14.8%). Otolaryngologists were cited in 22.2% of cases, while 33.3% of cases involved a plastic surgeon. The most common reasons for negligence were malocclusion resulting from a fracture (nine cases, 33.3%) and poor post-operative management (six cases, 22.2%). Twelve (44.4%) adjudicated cases were decided in favor of the surgeon.

Conclusion: The most common reasons for litigation following acute traumatic facial injuries were malocclusion and issues during post-operative management, such as surgical site infections. The majority of cases identified and analyzed in this study were adjudicated in favor of the patient.