Recent Study Examines Which Physicians Are Most Prone to Malpractice Claims
Malpractice claims are quite prevalent these days, and there have been concerns for a long time about which physicians are most prone to malpractice claims. This has raised the important question of whether certain physicians are sued more than others and whether those physicians share certain characteristics. A recent study looked at 66,426 claims paid against 54,099 physicians from 2005 through 2014. The study determined the concentrations of claims among physicians, and it also identified characteristics of physicians at high risk for recurrent malpractice claims.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that around 1% of all physicians accounted for 32% of paid medical malpractice claims. This means that a small number of doctors account for almost one third of all paid claims. Comparing physicians who paid one malpractice claim to those who had paid two claims showed that those who paid two were almost twice as likely to pay another in the future. Physicians with three paid claims were three times more likely to pay another in the future. And those with six or more paid claims were 12 times more likely to pay another in the future.
Risks Vary by Characteristics of Physician
The study also found that there were variable risks of recurrent malpractice claims depending on the specialty. For example, the risk among neurosurgeons was four times greater than the risk among psychiatrists. Psychiatrists and pediatricians had the lowest risk of recurrence, while neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, plastic surgeons, and obstetrician-gynecologists had the highest risk of recurrence.