Over a recent 10-year period, a small number of physicians with distinctive characteristics accounted for a disproportionately large number of malpractice claims, according to an analysis led by David M. Studdert at Stanford University. Approximately 1% of all physicians in their sample accounted for 32% of paid claims. Among physicians with paid claims, 84% incurred only one during the study period (accounting for 68% of all paid claims), 16% had at least two paid claims (accounting for 32% of the claims), and 4% had at least three paid claims (accounting for 12% of the claims). The risk of paying a malpractice claim also varied widely according to specialty — for example, the risk among neurosurgeons was four times as great as the risk among psychiatrists, they found.
Source: Prevalence and Characteristics of Physicians Prone to Malpractice Claims
