Medical malpractice claims and other litigation have unfortunately become a common occurrence in all fields of surgery. Although each case has unique and specific aspects, there are common patterns, themes, and risk factors that all practicing physicians should be aware of in order to minimize or even completely avoid these situations. In addition, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about how published guidelines such as the EAST Practice Managemenet Guidelines may be used for or against the physician in establishing the standard of care and any violoations of that standard. We discuss these issues with Dr. Carlo Reyes, a board certified Emergency Medicine physician, health care attorney, and nationally recognized expert in medical malpractice, and Dr. Chet Morrison, a Trauma and Surgical Critical Care attending with  a longstanding interest in this area.Supplemental Materials:Legal implications of Pay for Performance article by Dr. ReyesMinimizing your malpractice risk article by Dr. ReyesValue of CPGs as “Safe Harbors” for Legal Defense