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BackTable / Litigation / Podcast / Episode #33
The Blame Game: Finger Pointing in Charting & Litigation
with Heather Hansen
Finger pointing among health care professionals after an adverse event, or during litigation. We've all seen it. How does this 'blame game' play for a jury? Our guest today is Heather Hansen, trial consultant and communications expert. For over 20 years, she defended providers and hospitals in medical malpractice cases. She created a curriculum for medical residents, teaching them communication and advocacy tools. She has helped leaders from Harvard Business School, Google, LinkedIn, LVMH, the American Medical Association, and Hospital Corporations of America advocate for change, resources, opportunities, and attention.
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BackTable, LLC (Producer). (2025, November 16). Ep. 33 – The Blame Game: Finger Pointing in Charting & Litigation [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://www.backtable.com
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Synopsis
We've all seen it: the tertiary care center dumping on the community hospital in their notes. The specialist criticizes the primary care doctor or the ER's management. The doctor blames the nurse. The nurse charts defensively, ending with "MD Aware." The attending blames the resident. The resident blames the attending! All in a chart war, preserved for perpetuity.
Or even more sinister: a surgeon, after an adverse surgical event, tells the family the awful news - and then tries to implicate someone else: the anesthesiologist, the CRNA, the radiologist who read the study...
You know we could go on. We've all seen it. And then, once litigation starts - now we're co-defendants. How does this 'blame game' play for a jury?
Is the chart the place for these disagreements? (Spoiler alert: NO) Can finger pointing in charting actually backfire and get you pulled INTO a case? (Spoiler alert: YES)
As a trial attorney, Heather Hansen taught thousands of witnesses how to be credible and charismatic in court. She combines her experience with her psychology degree, conflict-resolution training, and time as a TV anchor to develop her trademarked systems and help her clients achieve their goals. Heather has been featured on The Today Show, Dr Oz, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CBS, and Fox Business. She’s the best-selling author of The Elegant Warrior: How to Win Life’s Trials Without Losing Yourself. She’s the host of The Elegant Warrior podcast, which is consistently in the top 100 business podcasts on Apple.
Resources
Sign up for the Doctors and Litigation LEAP Course (Litigation Education and Performance)
https://www.doctorsandlitigation.com/LEAP/signup
The Materials available on BackTable are provided for informational and educational purposes only and are not a substitute for the independent professional judgment of a qualified healthcare professional in diagnosing or treating patients. Any opinions, statements, or views expressed are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher, platform, or any affiliated organization.
