Unfortunately, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you are going to get sued by a patient, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 issue of New England Journal of Medicine. In fact, the study found that 99% of physicians in high-risk specialties, i.e. surgery, and 75% in lower-risk areas will get sued by the time they reach 65.
But there is a silver lining. Even though you will likely get sued, odds are you won’t have to pay damages, the study shows.
In practically all specialties, providers paid out settlements less than 4.5% of the time, the study shows. General surgeons peaked with 4.2% settlement rate while most specialties listed such as cardiology, anesthesiology and dermatology saw rates between 1% and 2%.
Also, some specialties are more susceptible to lawsuits than other, the study says. Example: Neurosurgeons saw a 19.1% lawsuit rate while family practitioners boasted a 5.2% rate.
When providers did pay, the average settlement was $274,887 overall, $117,832 for dermatology and $520,923 for pediatrics. The study used malpractice data from a single nationwide liability insurer covering 40, 916 physicians from 1991-2005.
Check out the study for yourself and see where your providers measure up.