5% of Doctors responsible for 50% of Malpractice Malpractice

Just 5 percent of American doctors are responsible for half the malpractice in the United States, according to a new analysis of federal data by the consumer group Public Citizen.

"The medical community alleges that medical liability litigation constitutes a giant ‘lottery,’ in which lawsuits bear no relationship to the care given by a physician," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook. "In reality, a small percentage of doctors are responsible for the bulk of malpractice in the United States, and only better oversight by state medical boards, not draconian limits on patients’ legal rights, can reduce the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries they cause."

Public Citizen’s examination of redacted records from the National Practitioner Data Bank found numerous questionable doctors who have inflicted repeated injuries on patients yet never been disciplined. Among these doctors, who are identified only by randomly generated numbers:

• Physician Number 94358, licensed in New Jersey, settled or lost 33 medical malpractice suits involving improper diagnosis or treatment between 1988 and 1993, inflicting more than $400,000 in disability costs to his patients. This doctor has not been disciplined by authorities in New Jersey.

• Physician Number 64625, licensed in Pennsylvania, paid 24 medical malpractice claims involving improper performance of surgery between 1989 and 2001. Damages to this doctor’s patients exceeded $370,000. This doctor has never been disciplined by Pennsylvania authorities.

• Physician Number 125457, while licensed in Nevada, paid five malpractice claims involving improper performance of surgery between 1995 and 1997 with damages totaling $2.3 million. Recent news accounts have reported that doctors are fleeing from Las Vegas to other states to avoid high malpractice insurance premiums. Physician 125457 was ahead of the curve in moving his practice to California. There he paid another eight malpractice claims with damages exceeding $7.5 million. This doctor has never been disciplined by authorities in either Nevada or California.

• Physician Number 37949, licensed in Texas, settled or lost 13 medical malpractice suits involving improper treatment or improper performance of surgery between 1990 and 1997. Two of the suits involved the same allegation: a foreign body left in the patient during surgery. Damages to this doctor’s patients exceeded $2 million. This doctor has never been disciplined by authorities in Texas.

Discipline the small percentage of doctors causing the largest percentage of malpractice and you make great strides towards reducing insurance premiums without hurting malpractice victims again by limiting their ability to recover damages.

Source:  Public Citizen