Top 5 reasons internists face medical malpractice lawsuits

Mario Cattabiani

by Mario Cattabiani — June 11, 2014

Top 5 reasons internists face medical malpractice lawsuits

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A recent study has revealed the Top Five reasons leading to medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors of internal medicine.

The study conducted by Sandeep S. Mangalmurti, MD and colleagues and published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine reviewed about 250,000 closed medical malpractice claims that were submitted to the Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA) between 1985 and 2009. Of those, about 33,750 cases involved doctors of internal medicine.

The study found that the Top Five problems that led to those cases were:

  1. Misdiagnoses of a patient's medical condition. Median payment was $183,300.
  2. Breach of care. Claims included equipment failure and failure to obtain consent. Median payment was $114,150.
  3. Medical errors made during procedures. Median payment was $103,203.
  4. Failure to monitor health care staff. This includes nurses, physicians assistants, or residents. Median payment was $141,875.
  5. Errors in prescribing or administration medication. Cases include failing to ask patients about allergies, failure to monitor patients on medication, and prescribing the wrong drugs or dosage. Median payment was $89,600.

Ross Feller Casey, based in Philadelphia, has a national reputation for winning record medical malpractice lawsuits. If you or a loved one was injured by errors made by a doctor or hospital, you may be entitled to financial compensation. But the time to file a claim is limited.

Please contact an experienced medical malpractice lawyer at Ross Feller Casey now for a free case review.

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