Facebook
X
LinkedIn
ForwardSEMPIC Live Education Day: Fall 2025
Course description
Communication is the process that people use to exchange information, and the codification, or lack thereof, of those discussions in the medical record continues to be a driving force behind professional liability and medical malpractice lawsuits. In this presentation, Marisa Cicotte and Will Tanoury will explore how ineffective communication and documentation can trigger lawsuits and compromise defense efforts at trial. Using case examples, they will compare situations where poor communication or documentation led to liability with those where clear, thorough documentation supported a successful defense. The presentation will also include best practices for communication among multi-disciplinary providers, training approaches and risk mitigation strategies to reduce the likelihood of being named in a lawsuit.
Learning objectives
At the conclusion of this learning activity, participants will be able to:
- Identify documentation and communication pitfalls that can lead to litigation, using real-life case examples
- Describe strategies to improve staff training that support appropriate medical decision-making and clinical care and follow-up
- Summarize best practices for documentation and communication with AHPs to prevent being named in a lawsuit
Target audience
SEMPIC policyholders and their employed staff
CME information
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Illinois State Medical Society and ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company. The Illinois State Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Illinois State Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Illinois Nurse Practice Act rules deem CME credit provided by approved sponsors as acceptable to fulfill nursing continuing education requirements for licensure. Nurses may claim one contact hour per unit of CME in the state of Illinois.
Additional information
The recommendations contained in this resource are not intended to define conduct that is appropriate in every case, should not be considered as establishing any standard of care, and do not constitute legal advice. Physicians, clinicians and healthcare providers should take care to ensure that all care rendered reflects the best clinical judgment and complies with the laws and regulations of the state or location at which the care was provided.
Marisa Cicotte, JD, has been practicing medical malpractice defense litigation as a trial attorney at Nauts, McKinney, Dwaihy & Beach, PLLC for the last 16 years upon graduation from Wayne State University Law School. Ms. Cicotte represents several national healthcare systems and insurance carriers, working with a wide variety of provider specialties. She has successfully obtained defense verdicts at trial for dozens of physicians and hospitals in counties all over the State of Michigan. Ms. Cicotte’s practice centers on multi-disciplinary medical malpractice litigation, including mass tort litigation, birth trauma, catastrophic spinal cord injury, behavioral health and abuse claims. She also represents individual providers in administrative licensing and insurance audit claims. In addition, Ms. Cicotte is a member of the Michigan Defense Trial Counsel and the Negligence Section of the State Bar of Michigan and is certified by SCAO as a general civil mediator.
Will Tanoury, JD, is a trial attorney at Nauts, McKinney, Dwaihy & Beach, PLLC, and has spent his career focusing on medical malpractice defense litigation. After graduating cum laude from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, he began working with the firm defending all specialties of medicine in Michigan. His scope of work includes representing multiple different insurance carriers as well as four major hospital systems in the state of Michigan. He specializes in complex, multispecialty catastrophic claims, handling cases that range from stroke medicine to birth trauma. He also assists individual providers with licensing matters, as well as working with hospital systems to better develop internal policies and procedures, improve electronic medical records, and implement risk management protocols.
Available Credit
- 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Illinois State Medical Society and ISMIE Mutual Insurance Company. The Illinois State Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Illinois State Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 3.00 Discount Credit
- 1.50 Participation Credit
Note: This activity has been specifically designed for those insured by SEMPIC, a division of ISMIE. As such, enrollment is limited to SEMPIC policyholders.