On average, physicians spend nearly 11 percent of their 40-year careers with an open, unresolved malpractice claim

Health Affairs

Volumn 32, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 111-119

  Seabury, Seth A ^a   Chandra, Amitabh ^b   Lakdawalla, Darius N ^c   Jena, Anupam B ^d  

^a RAND CORPORATION   (United States)

^b HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^d HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; CAREER; HUMAN; LAW SUIT; MALPRACTICE; OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD; PHYSICIAN; UNITED STATES;

DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE; HUMANS; INSURANCE CLAIM REVIEW; INSURANCE, LIABILITY; MALPRACTICE; NEGOTIATING; PHYSICIAN'S ROLE; TIME FACTORS; UNITED STATES;

EID: 84872093880     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 15445208     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.0967     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. Mello MM, Studdert DM, Brennan TA. The new medical malpractice crisis. N Engl J Med. 2003;348: 2281-4.
2. Studdert DM, Mello MM, Brennan TA. Medical malpractice. N Engl J Med. 2004;350:283-92.
3. Mello MM, Chandra A, Gawande AA, Studdert DM. National costs of the medical liability system. Health Aff (Millwood). 2010;29:1569-77.
4. Mello MM. Medical malpractice: impact of the crisis and effect of state tort reforms. Princeton (NJ): Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; 2006. (Synthesis Report No. 10).
5. Congressional Budget Office. Medical malpractice tort limits and health care spending. Washington (DC): CBO; 2006.
6. Mello MM, Brennan TA. The role of medical liability reform in federal health care reform. N Engl J Med. 2009;361:1-3.
7. Thorpe KE. The medical malpractice "crisis": recent trends and the impact of state tort reforms. Health Aff (Millwood). 2004;23:w4-20-30. DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.w4.20.
8. Baicker K, Fisher ES, Chandra A. Malpractice liability costs and the practice of medicine in the Medicare program. Health Aff (Millwood). 2007;26:841-52.
9. Lawthers AG, Laird NM, Lipsitz S, Hebert L, Brennan TA, Localio AR. Physicians' perceptions of the risk of being sued. J Health Polit Policy Law. 1992;17:463.
10. Sage WM. Reputation, malpractice liability, and medical error. Chapter 10 in: Sharpe VA, editor. Accountability: patient safety and policy reform. Washington (DC): Georgetown University Press; 2004. p. 159-84.
11. Quinn R. Medical malpractice insurance: the reputation effect and defensive medicine. J Risk Insur. 1998;467-84.
12. Government Accountability Office. Medical malpractice insurance: multiple factors have contributed to increased premium rates. Washington (DC): GAO; 2003 Jun. (Report No. GAO-03-702).
13. Berlin L. Will saying "I'm sorry" prevent a malpractice lawsuit? AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2006;187:10-5.
14. Gallagher TH, Levinson W. Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients: a time for professional action. Arch Intern Med. 2005;165: 1819-24.
15. Gallagher TH, Studdert D, Levinson W. Disclosing harmful medical errors to patients. N Engl J Med. 2007; 356:2713-9.
16. Hobgood C, Tamayo-Sarver JH, Elms A, Weiner B. Parental preferences for error disclosure, reporting, and legal action after medical error in the care of their children. Pediatrics. 2005; 116:1276-86.
17. Black B, Silver C, Hyman D, Sage WM. Stability, not crisis: medical malpractice claims outcomes in Texas, 1988-2002. J Empirical Legal Stud. 2005;2:207-59.
18. Black B, Hyman DA, Silver C, Sage WM. Defense costs and insurer reserves in medical malpractice and other personal injury cases: evidence from Texas, 1988-2004. Am Law Econ Rev. 2008;10:185.
19. Government Accountability Office. Medical malpractice: characteristics of claims closed in 1984. Washington (DC): GAO; 1987.
20. Sowka M, editor. Malpractice claims: final compilation. Brookfield (WI): National Association of Insurance Commissioners; 1980.
21. Studdert DM, Mello MM, Gawande AA, Gandhi TK, Kachalia A, Yoon C, et al. Claims, errors, and compensation payments in medical malpractice litigation. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:2024-33.
22. Cohen TH, Hughes KA. Medical malpractice insurance claims in seven states, 2000-2004. Washington (DC): Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs; 2007.
23. Jena AB, Seabury S, Lakdawalla D, Chandra A. Malpractice risk according to physician specialty. N Engl J Med. 2011;365:629-36.
24. Seabury S, Chandra A, Lakdawalla D, Jena AB. Defense costs of medical malpractice claims. N Engl J Med. 2012;366:1354-6.
25. To access the Appendix, click on the Appendix link in the box to the right of the article online
26. Chandra A, Nundy S, Seabury SA. The growth of physician medical malpractice payments: evidence from the National Practitioner Data Bank. Health Aff (Millwood). 2005;24:w5-240-9. DOI: 10.1377/ hlthaff.w5.240.
27. Jena AB, Chandra A, Lakdawalla D, Seabury S. Outcomes of medical malpractice litigation against US physicians. Arch Intern Med. 2012; 172:892-4.
28. Studdert DM, Mello MM. When tort resolutions are "wrong": predictors of discordant outcomes in medical malpractice litigation. J Legal Stud. 2007;36:S47-78.
29. Kesselheim AS, Studdert DM. Characteristics of physicians who frequently act as expert witnesses in neurologic birth injury litigation. Obstet Gynecol. 2006;108:273-9.
30. Localio AR, Lawthers AG, Brennan TA, Laird NM, Hebert LE, Peterson LM, et al. Relation between malpractice claims and adverse events due to negligence. Results of the Harvard Medical Practice Study III. N Engl J Med. 1991;325:245-51.
31. Kachalia A, Kaufman SR, Boothman R, Anderson S, Welch K, Saint S, et al. Liability claims and costs before and after implementation of a medical error disclosure program. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:213-21.