A Review of Medical and Legal Characteristics for Urethroplasty-Related Litigation and Medical Malpractice Cases

This study aimed to characterize litigation involving urethroplasties to identify common medical and legal trends. We queried the Westlaw and Bloomberg Law databases using the term "urethroplasty." Cases from January 1979 to June 2023 were reviewed. We included both medical malpractice and nonmalpractice lawsuits. We excluded cases that did not mention the urologist, preoperative care, postoperative care, or complications. Cases were categorized based on the reason for litigation and the related complications, involved parties, and if they resulted in settlement. We identified 17 cases that met inclusion criteria. Seven of the cases were medical malpractice lawsuits, with four directly implicating urologists. Two malpractice cases resulted in verdicts awarding financially to plaintiffs, $810,000 and $1,006,000. Most malpractice cases alleged postoperative care negligence (<i>n</i> = 4, 57.1%), with the most common complications being physical pain (<i>n</i> = 3, 42.9%) and penile deformity (<i>n</i> = 3, 42.9%). Most nonmalpractice cases alleged delays in treatment (<i>n</i> = 5, 50%) with physical pain cited in 70% (<i>n</i> = 7) of these cases. In conclusion, most urethroplasty-related litigation were nonmalpractice lawsuits. Half of the malpractice cases resulted in verdicts favoring the plaintiff, while all verdicts for nonmalpractice cases favored the defendant. Awareness of litigation trends may help urologists improve patient care and counseling.