Back in 2020, the American Board of Radiology released new agreements in order to participate in maintenance of certification “continuing” certification, the thing you have to do in order to be board-certified and practice radiology no matter how meaningless the process is (thankfully, the ABR’s OLA process is relatively painless). Back then, there was a bit of drama because they were draconian and frankly a bit sketchy. I wrote about it here.
In case anyone is wondering, the new version folks are signing this year again reads like the legalese you ignore when trying to install iTunes.
Just a few highlights to illustrate the degree of needless bullshit at play (Needless ALL CAPs is all them):
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE, SHALL THE BOARD BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM INCORRECT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE BOARD TO THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY OR TO THE PUBLIC REGARDING THE STATUS OF MY CERTIFICATION, EVEN IF THE BOARD HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO ME. I FURTHER AGREE THAT I WILL PROMPTLY NOTIFY THE BOARD OF ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN MY INFORMATION.
Under no circumstances is the ABR legally responsible for doing its core purpose.
The hedging of true radiologists:
THE CONTENT AND THE SITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THE ABR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE, NONDISRUPTION, SECURITY, ACCURACY, THE USE OF REASONABLE CARE AND SKILL, QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY, TITLE OR ENTITLEMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ABILITY TO ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR RESULT OR FUNCTIONALITY, AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS, AS WELL AS WARRANTIES ARISING BY USAGE OF TRADE, COURSE OF DEALING, AND COURSE OF PERFORMANCE ON THE PART OF THE ABR, RELATING TO THE SITE AND THE CONTENT. THE ABR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SITE OR THE CONTENT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVER(S) THAT MAKES THE SITE AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ACCESS TO THE SITE MAY BE SUSPENDED TEMPORARILY AND WITHOUT NOTICE IN THE CASE OF SYSTEM FAILURE, MAINTENANCE, OR REPAIR, OR FOR ANY OTHER CAUSE. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO ME.
I’m sure this is all normal. And just a final catchall disclaiming liability for anything and everything:
THE BOARD SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY NATURE SUFFERED BY ANY CUSTOMER, USER, OR ANY THIRD PARTY RESULTING IN WHOLE OR IN PART FROM THE BOARD’S EXERCISE OF ITS RIGHTS UNDER THIS CONTINUING CERTIFICATION AGREEMENT.
I posted the corresponding screenshots on Twitter of the site pop-up that you are forced to sign; the agreement is not available on a public-facing URL. Not included in the above, among other things, is the part where they also explain that they will never identify anyone who reports you to the board so that you could better defend yourself against allegations.
Do lawyers correlate clinically?