AMA: Liability Claims Filed Nearly One Per Physician

A report from the American Medical Association finds an average of 95 medical liability claims filed for every 100 physicians.

The report, released Tuesday, prompted renewed calls from the AMA for comprehensive national and state-level tort reforms.

“Even though the vast majority of claims are dropped or decided in favor of physicians, the understandable fear of meritless lawsuits can influence what specialty of medicine physicians practice, where they practice and when they retire,” says AMA Immediate Past-President J. James Rohack, MD. “This litigious climate hurts patients’ access to physician care at a time when the nation is working to reduce unnecessary healthcare costs.”

The report—which includes data from the AMA’s 2007-2008 Physician Practice Information survey of patient-care physicians and other sources—has data on medical liability claims’ impact by age, gender, and practice arrangement for physicians.
The report shows:

• Nearly 61% of physicians age 55 and over have been sued.
• There is wide variation in the impact of liability claims between specialties. The number of claims per 100 physicians was more than five times greater for general surgeons and OB/GYNS than it was for pediatricians and psychiatrists.
• Before they reach age 40, more than 50% of OB/GYN have been sued. 
• 90% of general surgeons age 55 and over have been sued.

The number of medical liability claims is not an indication of the frequency of medical error, AMA says, because the physician prevails 90% of the time in cases that go to trial. While 65% of claims are dropped or dismissed, they are not cost-free. Average defense costs per claim range from a low of over $22,000 among claims that are dropped or dismissed to a high of over $100,000 for cases that go to trial. This leads to increased costs for physicians and patients.

“The AMA supports proven medical liability reforms to lower health care costs and keep physicians caring for patients,” Rohack says. “The findings in this report validate the need for national and state medical liability reform to rein in our out-of-control system where lawsuits are a matter of when, not if, for physicians.”