Doctors And The Malpractice Lawsuit Cycle
A study of 15 years of malpractice cases that resulted in payments to patients found that one percent of physicians accounts for 32 percent of all paid claims and if a doctor pays out once, the chances are good he or she will pay again.
The New York Times:
Doctors Who Get Sued Are Likely To Get Sued Again
One percent of all doctors account for 32 percent of all paid malpractice claims, and the more often a doctor is sued, the more likely he or she will be sued again. Researchers analyzed 10 years of paid malpractice claims using the National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal government database that includes 66,426 claims against 54,099 doctors. The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Bakalar, 1/27)
Reuters:
One Percent Of U.S. Docs Responsible For A Third Of Malpractice Payments
Just one out of every 100 U.S. doctors is responsible for 32 percent of the malpractice claims that result in payments to patients, according to a comprehensive study of 15 years’ worth of cases. And when a doctor has to pay out one claim, the chances are good that the same physician will soon be paying out on another, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Emery, 1/27)
