Document Detail


What pediatricians should know about child-related malpractice payments in the United States.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16882796     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine child-related National Practitioner Data Bank data. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Practitioner Data Bank. RESULTS: the period from February 1, 2004, through December 31, 2005, a total of 30195 malpractice payments were made on behalf of practitioners in the United States; 14% of those payments (4107 of 30,195 payments) were child related. During the period analyzed, $1.73 billion were paid for malpractice cases involving children. More than 95% of all payments were the result of settlements and only approximately 5% the result of judgments. The average child-related malpractice payment was significantly greater than an adult-related malpractice payment ($422,000 vs $247,000); however, child-related malpractice payments were only one half as likely to occur, compared with adult-related malpractice payments. Significant geographic variability was found in the numbers and sizes of child-related malpractice payments. Failure to diagnose was the leading reason for child-related payments (18%), followed by improper performance (9%), delay in diagnosis (9%), and improper management (6%). Finally, we found that approximately 40% of all malpractice awards were the result of surgical or obstetrical issues. CONCLUSIONS: Practicing pediatricians should be aware of the existence of a mandatory electronic depository that documents all malpractice settlements and judgments involving practitioners.
Authors:
Zeev N Kain; Alison A Caldwell-Andrews
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Pediatrics     Volume:  118     ISSN:  1098-4275     ISO Abbreviation:  Pediatrics     Publication Date:  2006 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2006-08-02     Completed Date:  2006-09-11     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0376422     Medline TA:  Pediatrics     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  464-8     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Center for the Advancement of Perioperative Health and Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA. kain@biomed.med.yale.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Child
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Male
Malpractice / economics,  legislation & jurisprudence,  statistics & numerical data*,  trends
Pediatrics* / economics,  legislation & jurisprudence
United States
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01-HD037007-04/HD/NICHD NIH HHS
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
Pediatrics. 2007 Jul;120(1):173-4   [PMID:  17606574 ]
Pediatrics. 2006 Nov;118(5):2266-7   [PMID:  17079610 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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