Just 22% of 1,361 closed claims for such cases in the Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) registry led to payments to plaintiffs, according to the study published in the American Journal of Cardiology. The payment average was $230,987.
 
The study also shows that payment size tends to be proportional to the severity of the patient’s injury – about 44% of the included cases cited death as the reason for the claim. But the study’s does not include outcomes of cases settled outside of court, noted an article on TCTMD.com.
 
But the review does suggest that malpractice suits in cardio are “probably significantly less of a problem than the rumor on the street,” said Ian C. Gilchrist, M.D., of Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania, to TCTMD.com.
 
“It also suggests that claims are usually related to an adverse event or complication and don't materialize out of nowhere,” he said.
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