Page 11 - OB Risks - Delivering the Goods (Part One)

SVMIC Obstetrics Risks: Delivering the Goods

recent study placed the number of United States OB-GYNS who

have been named in at least one malpractice suit at a higher
percentage – 77 percent.
4

In the latter study, the top clinical judgment issues were

inappropriate management of labor and delivery (present in 30
percent of claims), inappropriate management of pregnancy (14

percent of claims), negligent patient monitoring (12 percent of
claims), and delay in performing cesarean section (11 percent

of claims). The most prevalent injuries among maternal claims
were infertility (present in 29 percent of all claims), preeclampsia

(23 percent), and death (16 percent of claims). The most
prevalent fetal injuries in OB-related claims were neurological/

brain injury (present in 41 percent of claims), shoulder dystocia/
brachial plexus injury (37 percent of claims), and fetal demise,

including stillbirth (34 percent of claims).
5

The news is not, however, all bad. In a review of paid claims

reported to the National Practitioners Data Bank from the
years 1992 to 2014, the annual rate of paid claims per 1,000 OB-

GYNS decreased by an astounding 55 percent. Unfortunately,
6
however, payments per claim and the number of claims settling

for greater than one million dollars increased during that same
time period. Stated succinctly, frequency has been trending

downward over the last couple of decades while severity has
been trending upward.

There are several factors that make obstetrics cases unique and

contribute to these sizeable verdicts. OB providers must care for
two patients – mother and baby. Additionally, the expectation of

4 https://www.ecri.org/components/HRCAlerts/Pages/HRCAlerts013019_One.aspx
5 Id.
6 Schaffer AC, Jena AB, Seabury SA, et al. Rates and characteristics of paid malpractice claims
among US physicians by specialty, 1992-2014, JAMA Intern Med. 2017;177:710-718

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