AMA: More than 40% of physicians have been sued

by: Grant Huang Aug 19, 2010

A remarkable 42.2% of physicians say they've had a medical liability claim filed against them at some point in the career, according to a recent AMA report. More than 20% of physician respondents say they've been sued more than once. There is some good news: About 65% of the claims filed were dropped, dismissed or withdrawn, AMA researchers found. But the bad news is that defense costs are high, with an average cost of defense pegged at $40,649 and the lowest costs hovering around $22,000.

The AMA's survey covered more than 5,200 physicians from 42 specialties and was administered over the course of a year, from 2007 to 2008. Here's a few more highlights:

Perhaps not surprisingly, general surgeons and OB/GYNs had the highest likelihood of being sued; 70% of these specialists report having had claims filed against them, and more than 50% had been sued multiple times.
Pediatricians and psychiatrists had the lowest likelihood of being sued, with less than 30% having been sued.
Interestingly, male physicians were much more likely to be sued than female physicians: 47.5% of male respondents say they've been sued, compared to just 23.9% of females. This gender gap is partially explained by the fact that, at least among the survey respondents, more males were clustered in the high-risk specialties like surgery and OB/GYN.

You can get the full report summary in PDF format directly from the AMA.

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