We tend to run focus groups on our cases, inviting folks who approximate possible jurors in a given venue to listen to facts of a real case and give their thoughts and opinions. Of course, I run groups on actual cases, and as such a bad outcome has occurred.

Commonly, some jurors are critical of the choices made by the patient in a given circumstance. For example, one case may involve a patient going to her doctor, and the doctor misdiagnosing her, causing harm. In those situations, I routinely hear things like “I would have gone straight to the ER and demanded a (insert test here that would have picked up the problem)” or “I would have gotten a second opinion”.

This latter sentiment – that I would have gotten a second opinion – is a particularly common sentiment for folks who are faced with a story involving a doctor allegedly making a mistake and causing great harm. It can be easier for folks to think of themselves as fundamentally different from the patient who suffered the harm. This has a name: “attribution bias” or “negative attribution bias”. It is the juror’s own unconscious defense mechanism to feel safer about the world.

Still, I have always been curious as to how often people do ask for and get second opinions. From a 2011 Harvard Publication, about 70% of Americans don’t get a second opinion or do additional research. A 2005 Gallup poll found that about half never seek a second opinion. Whatever the actual number, it appears that more than half of all of us never seek a second opinion.

I count myself among that group, having never asked a doctor for a referral to another doctor to check the first doctor’s work. My guess is the reasons so few of us ask for second opinions are similar: the time involved in getting one, the fear of insulting the first doctor, the worry of getting two different opinions and ending up more confused than before.

Unfortunately, though, second opinions are often helpful in diagnosis and treatment. A recent Mayo Clinic study found that, of those patients who sought a second opinion for a complex condition, nearly 88% went home with either a new or refined diagnosis – changing their care plan and possibly saving their lives.

Certainly, my clients who have suffered tremendous harm due to a medical error would love to go back in time and get that second opinion. For complex issues, perhaps moving forward we would all be better served if we got them.

You can read more about the Mayo study here:

[The value of second opinions demonstrated in study](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170404084442.htm)