Repercussions for frivolous naming practices in medical lawsuits
I'm in the medical field so please forgive obvious ignorance or any improper terminology.
I don't think the detail or state of occurrence matters much in this case since this question is more about culture and perception in the field, but if it's relevant (possibly for the last question), let's call it Colorado.
From talking to my colleagues in medicine, it seems to be common to be named in lawsuits for patient care mismanagement if you have any contact with a patient who experienced an adverse event. For example, say a patient had an unforeseen complication of a surgical procedure, and then subsequently loses use of a limb. After the bad outcome, the patient has an evaluation by a rehab medicine specialist who examines them and writes a note about the next best steps for recovery. The patient later decides to sue, and every doctor who put their signature on paper during that patient encounter is named in the initial lawsuit, from the surgeon who may have been at fault, all the way to the rehab doctor who is helping pick up the pieces and everyone in between no matter how insignificant the role in care. In the initial phases of the proceedings, representatives from both sides get together and the doctors who were clearly uninvolved with the event of concern like the rehab doc are dropped from the suit as a bargaining process (from what I understand).
The problem is once you are named, that is a question that comes up in accreditation processes and when seeking practice privileges at a hospital. For the rest of his/her career, that rehab doc has to check yes on a box saying they've been named and explain the situation. It's true that since this is common, it is usually understood by the party asking for information as not a big deal. Still, at minimum it's annoying and arguably has an effect on perception of skills which can affect your perceived competence in a field.
I have a few questions about this practice.
Is it the accepted norm to use this strategy for medical lawsuit cases?
Are the people doing this looked upon favorably by their peers in law or is this a shady practice?
Are there repercussions a lawyer can face if it is proven the frivolously name people in these cases purely as a bargaining technique?