ASCRS Ch70 - Welcome to Litigation

Chapter 70 of the ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery, 4th edition (Ames DK, a practicing medical malpractice trial attorney rather than a physician author), book pages 1139-1160 (PDF pages 1122-1143, offset +17). Part of the "Part VI: Miscellaneous" grouping, immediately following ASCRS Ch69 - Ethical Considerations (Conflict of Interest, Surgical Innovation, and End of Life) — the third consecutive non-clinical chapter in this sequential ingest.

Structure

• Introduction — malpractice risk epidemiology (2011 NEJM data), the chapter's framing shift from "what if" to "what when," and the "frustration = responsibility / authority to act" concept.
• Preparation: Key to Success — the role of disputed vs. undisputed facts, and the jury's role as finder of fact.
• Stages of the Litigation Process (I. Initiation, II. Discovery, III. Trial), each with detailed subsections and "Teaching Points" callout boxes with illustrative deposition Q&A exchanges:
• I. Initiation — notice of an occurrence, quality-assurance/work-product privilege mechanics, handling medical records requests (including EMR-specific metadata issues), service of the summons and complaint, causes of action (negligence vs. informed consent vs. battery), damages classification (general/special, punitive).
• II. Discovery — written discovery (interrogatories, requests for admission/production), and an extensive deposition section (percipient vs. expert testimony, refreshed memory vs. document-dependent testimony, ambiguous-term handling, estimate-vs-guess distinction, transcript review/correction rights, videotaped depositions).
• III. Trial — attorney/physician roles, jury selection (voir dire), testimony conduct, the legal standard for negligence (with illustrative California civil jury instructions), the three verdict-form questions and burden of proof, and post-trial procedure.
• Concluding Remarks.
• References (13 citations — mostly California Civil Jury Instructions and case law, plus the single NEJM malpractice-risk epidemiology citation).

Wiki disposition

Written to a new standalone concept page, Medical Malpractice Litigation — no existing wiki page covered litigation procedure or deposition/trial technique. Light cross-reference to Surgical Ethics (Conflict of Interest, Innovation & End-of-Life Care) given the shared informed-consent-vs-battery distinction (that page covers the clinical/ethical informed-consent practice, this page covers its legal cause-of-action consequences).

Offset verification

Chapter opens on book page 1139 (PDF page 1122), copyright line confirms "© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1139" — offset +17, unchanged from Ch. 69 (Ch. 69 ended on an even book page, 1138, so no jump was expected or found). Chapter ends on book page 1160 (even page); no jump occurs at the Ch. 70/Ch. 71 boundary — Ch. 71 ("Quality," Wick EC, Etzioni DA) confirmed starting at book page 1161 (PDF page 1144), offset +17 unchanged (copyright line confirms "© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1161").