A 2011 study in the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that 75% of physicians in "low-risk" specialties and virtually 100% of physicians in "high-risk" specialties could expect to face a malpractice claim sometime in their career (N. Engl. J. Med. 2011;365:629-36). However, 60% of liability claims against doctors are dropped, withdrawn, or dismissed without payment, and physicians are found not negligent in over 90% of cases that do go to trial.
While there are no readily available national statistics on the actual number of claims filed, there is data, compiled by the federal government’s National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), suggesting that the number of cases filed has been dropping in the last decade.
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Dr. James A. L. Mathers Jr.
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The NPDB issues an annual report that includes the number of medical malpractice payments made each year for the preceding 10 years. For nearly every year in the past decade, the number of medical malpractice payments made on behalf of all practitioners reported to the NPDB has decreased. Between 2002 and 2011, the number of medical malpractice payments decreased nearly 40%, declining steadily from 18,696 to 11,424.
Also, in the past 10 years, the number of medical malpractice payments reported to the NPDB, attributed to physicians and dentists, has decreased steadily from 17,155 to 10,038. Between 2003 and 2011, the total amount paid out fell from $4.5 billion to less than $3.2 billion, a 29% drop. State tort-reform laws limiting noneconomic damages, growth in risk management responses to adverse events, and the growing use of apology and disclosure likely have contributed to this trend.
Dr. James A.L. Mathers, Jr., is a past president of the American College of Chest Physicians, and is recently retired with 30 years of private practice experience in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine.
