It can be helpful for people who are about to undergo major surgery to be aware of which specialties have the highest rate of malpractice claims. Medscape does an annual review on why doctors get sued and which professions are seeing increases or decreases in claims. Here are some statistics from this year’s report.
* 59% of the surveyed physicians were named in at least one malpractice suit during their career. Around 4,000 doctors were surveyed total.
* Of those that were sued, only 12% of them were the only parties sued. 47% were part of a group of doctors sued, and the remainder were institutions.
* OB-GYNs (85% surveyed), surgeons (83%), orthopedists (79%), and radiologists (72%) were the professions sued most often. The first three also had the highest rates of being the only parties named in a malpractice suit.
* Oncologists were sued the least for malpractice, at 34% surveyed.
The professions that are sued often are all highly technical specialties where failure can have life-long effects. While we applaud the skill and bravery of those who choose these specialties, we must also be aware that things can and do go wrong, and that we should be aware of all risks before undergoing a procedure.
Do you believe you’ve been injured due to malpractice? If you live near Syracuse, NY, contact the law offices of Bottar Law for a consultation. We are ready to hear your malpractice case and advise you of your chances of success.