Page 7 - Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

SVMIC Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Introduction

The mere thought of a malpractice claim or lawsuit is enough

to make most physicians uneasy. After foregoing the less
arduous path taken by most of their high school and college

classmates, devoting years to advanced study and
specialization, possibly incurring enormous medical student

loan debt, helping hundreds, if not thousands of patients, this is

the reward? SVMIC claims data indicates that physicians who
practice 30 years or more have an 80 percent or greater

chance of facing a claim or lawsuit. For some higher risk

specialties, the chances are 100 percent. The bottom line is
that if you practice medicine long enough, you will most likely

be involved in a malpractice claim or lawsuit.

On average, physicians spend nearly 11 percent of their 40-year
careers with an open, unresolved malpractice claim according

to a study published by the Rand Corporation. The study
1
analyzed data from nearly 41,000 physicians and found that the

average physician spends 50.7 months – or almost 11 percent -
of an assumed forty-year career defending a malpractice

claim. Although most physicians are concerned about the
2
amount of potential damages that might be paid out, the often
more distressing factor is the amount of time these claims and

lawsuits take to be adjudicated. Unfortunately, there is no

“STAT” system in place in the courts. Sometimes pre-suit
claims can be resolved relatively quickly, but once a lawsuit is

filed, it will typically move through the courts at a snail’s pace.

1 https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP51278.html
2 Id.

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