The Sports Docs Podcast
Sports medicine is a constantly evolving field, with hundreds of new articles published each month on the topic. This ever-growing wealth of information can make it challenging to stay updated on the newest approaches and techniques, and to know which data should actually change your practice. Join orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Catherine Logan and Dr. Ashley Bassett, as they chat about the most recent developments in sports medicine and dissect through all the noise.
On each episode of The Sports Docs podcast, the hosts will tackle a specific injury – from ACL tears to shoulder instability – and review the top research from various high-impact journals that month, including The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Sports Health, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and more. The Sports Docs will also be joined by experts in the field of sports medicine – orthopedic surgeons, nonoperative sports medicine specialists, athletes, physical therapists, athletic trainers and others – to provide a fresh and well-rounded perspective based on their unique experiences.
The Sports Docs – Dr. Logan & Dr. Bassett – are friends & former co-residents from the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, who went onto esteemed sports medicine fellowships at The Steadman Clinic and The Rothman Institute, respectively. Dr. Logan practices in Denver, CO, and serves as Team Physician for Men's USA Lacrosse & as a Team Physician for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Dr. Bassett is the director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Orthopedic Institute of New Jersey and practices across northern NJ, primarily in Morris and Sussex Counties.
Together, they will bring monthly conversations on how to care for athletes of all ages and levels of play, with a healthy mix of cutting-edge science and real-world application.
The Sports Docs Podcast
119: Overtime – Team Physician Malpractice Liability
On each of these mini episodes, we chat about a new article or new surgical technique in the field of sports medicine. We’ll give you our quick take on the most recent data and how this data will impact our practice.
Today, we’re broaching a topic that we haven’t discussed before on this podcast. And that is the medico-legal side of sports medicine. Specifically, the malpractice liability exposure for team physicians.
In January of 2023, a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles sued a surgeon in Pittsburgh, that surgeon’s medical center, and the Philadelphia orthopaedic practice caring for the team. After a 2-week trial, the jury found in favor of the plaintiff and awarded him $43.5 million dollars in damages. This ruling has had a profound impact on our sports medicine community and ultimately led to the Philadelphia practice terminating its contract to care for this NFL team.
This case, and others that have come before it, has highlighted the liability that orthopedic surgeons assume when caring for elite professional athletes. Despite this, many sports medicine physicians lack the legal expertise to understand their risk of exposure. Today, we are reviewing an article published this month in AJSM titled “Malpractice Liability Exposure and the Sports Medicine Team Physician: Caring for Professional Athletes in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, and National Hockey League.”