• 18
  • August
    2011

According to a new Harvard study which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, most doctors in America face a malpractice suit at some point in their career. That is especially the case for doctors involved in high-risk procedures, such as neurosurgery and obstetrics.

The study looked at 15 years of data involving nearly 41,000 physicians from 1991 to 2005. The authors of the study found that 7.4 percent of physicians were hit with a malpractice claim each year. Only 1.6 of them were involved with claims that eventually led to payments though. That means that less than 22 percent of such suits end in payments to patients or their families.

Although the study found the chances of being hit with a malpractice suit varied a great deal based on specialty, but the authors of the study say that there is still cause for concern about the prevalence of malpractice suits. For instance, even doctors practicing in a low risk field like family medicine have a 75 percent chance of being sued in the course of their career. According to the authors of the study, malpractice law needs to be changed to make it easier for doctors and patients to resolve disputes before engaging in costly litigation.

Litigation may not be the best option in every case, but there is no question that patients need to be able to keep their doctors honest and to have some means of recovery. Some patients end up suffering serious, permanent harm due to the negligence of their physician.

In our next post, we'll continue looking this study and the conclusions of its authors.

Source: Boston Globe, "Harvard study finds most doctors will be sued for malpractice during their careers," Beth Israel Deaconess, August 17, 2011.