The Doctors Company, a physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, has published results of a study that examines closed malpractice claims against orthopedic surgeons.
Here are five insights from the study:
1. The study analyzed 1,895 claims against orthopedists that closed from 2007 to 2014.
2. The study includes all claims and lawsuits in which an orthopedist was named as a defendant, regardless of the outcome.
3. The three most common patient allegations were improper performance of surgery (46 percent), improper management of the surgical patient (16 percent) and diagnosis-related issues, such as failure or delay in diagnosis or wrong diagnosis (13 percent).
4. The claim of improper performance of surgery was made when the outcome was different from the patient's expectations in most cases.
5. The three most common allegations accounted for 75 percent of claims.