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Monday, July 02, 2007
Ind. Law - "IU research finds pediatricians rarely lose malpractice cases that make it to trial"
Shari Rudavsky reports today in the Indianapolis Star business section that begins:
Being served with a medical malpractice suit may rank among a physician's greatest fears.
But pediatricians, at least, rarely lose malpractice cases, says a new study by Indiana University researchers published today.The study found that despite concerns about society's increasing litigiousness, claims against pediatricians have remained stable in the past two decades. In addition, such cases tend not to go all the way to trial.
About 68 percent of all cases brought in the past two decades against pediatricians were withdrawn or dismissed without payment, according to the study in the journal Pediatrics. About 27 percent were settled for the plaintiff.
Five percent of the claims went to trial and four out of five of those were verdicts in favor of the pediatrician, the study found.
"What was most surprising to us and should be of some comfort to doctors is that . . . the majority of cases just go away with no payment made whatsoever," said Dr. Aaron E. Carroll, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine and a co-author of the report.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 2, 2007 10:13 AM
Posted to Indiana Law