PURPOSE To analyze and compare malpractice claims rates between male and female ophthalmologists and test the hypothesis that claims rates are equal between the two sexes. METHODS A retrospective, cohort study review was made of all claims reported to the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company from January 1990 through December 2008 in which an expense (including indemnity and/or legal defense c...

BACKGROUND Data are lacking on the proportion of physicians who face malpractice claims in a year, the size of those claims, and the cumulative career malpractice risk according to specialty. METHODS We analyzed malpractice data from 1991 through 2005 for all physicians who were covered by a large professional liability insurer with a nationwide client base (40,916 physicians and 233,738 phys...

Abstract Reinsurance and CAT bonds are two alternative risk management instruments used by insurance companies. Insurers should be indifferent between the in a perfect capital market. However, theoretical literature suggests that insured characteristics market imperfections may influence effectiveness efficiency of reinsurance relative to bonds. add value insurers’ strategies therefore substitu...

OBJECTIVE To identify common causes of legal action, injuries, claims, and decisions related to medical professional liability claims stemming from cutaneous laser surgery. DESIGN Search of online public legal documents using a national database. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Frequency and nature of cases, including year of litigation, location and certification of provider, injury sustained, cause...

Objective: Identify clinical opportunities to intervene to prevent a malpractice event and determine the proportion of malpractice claims potentially preventable by clinical decision support (CDS). Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional review of closed malpractice claims over seven years from one malpractice insurance company and seven hospitals in the Boston area. For each event, clinical opp...

BACKGROUND "High-liability risk specialties" tend to be the focus of medical malpractice system research and debate, but concerns and fears are not limited to this group. The objective of this study was to examine whether "high-liability risk" medical specialties have a different experience with the malpractice system than "low-liability risk" specialties. METHODS We reviewed claims data from...