Non-Disclosure Statements in Medical Malpractice Cases Keep You from Knowing the Truth

Non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, are legal documents designed to keep secrets. Most of the time NDAs are helpful tools for businesses; after all, you would not want your competitors knowing how you make your products, right? But what about your healthcare: should doctors and hospitals who settle medical malpractice cases be allowed to keep that information secret?

A new article in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that non-disclosure agreements are standard practice in such lawsuits, but the details of the agreements were not consistent. Disturbingly, the authors conclude that “the scope of nondisclosure was often broader than seemed needed to protect physicians and hospitals from disparagement by the plaintiff or to avoid publicizing settlement amounts that might attract other claimants. Some agreements prohibited reporting to regulatory agencies, a practice that the health care system changed in response to our findings.”

In other words, NDAs allow medical providers to keep some of the most important details of a medical malpractice suit out of the public eye. In fact, more than 50% of the settlements had NDAs prohibiting “disclosure of the facts of the claim,” according to Medical News Today, meaning that if you wanted to see why your doctor was sued and the facts presented in the case against him or her, you would not be able to find that information.

MNT also reports that every NDA prohibited anyone from disclosing the amount of the settlement, and many of them – more than 50% – would not allow anyone to even release the amount that had been sought.

Why it matters

This information is troubling because it means that as healthcare consumers you are not getting the full picture. You may be able to see that the hospital covered by your insurance has settled medical malpractice claims (or not, depending on the NDA), but you may never know why, or for how much, or even how often. How can you be expected to make an informed decision about your health if the insurance companies and hospitals keep such vital information out of the public’s hands?

The authors of the JAMA article say outright that some NDAs are much broader than necessary to protect doctors. In our eyes, all this shows is that insurers and administrators are hiding information that could prove crucial to your health one day. Once again, it seems they prioritize their profits over their patients.

Related resource on medical malpractice claims

How Important is the Role of the Expert Witness in a Medical Malpractice Claim?

7 Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Malpractice

Baltimore Medical Malpractice Lawyers