7 Reasons Doctors Get Sued and Why You Need Medical Malpractice Insurance

Medical Malpractice Insurance NJ

A look at the statistics will show you just how devastating even one lawsuit can be: the average compensation in medical malpractice claims is $485,000, with average jury awards after a verdict being double that of out-of-court settlements: $799,000 for jury awards and $462,000 for settlements, found a study by the New England Journal of Medicine.

In addition, 80 percent of doctors have experienced at least one medical malpractice suit by the age of 60. Faced with those stats, you can’t afford not to have adequate medical malpractice insurance under your belt. Maintaining your reputation and good standing in the community is vital to ensuring the long-term health of your practice. The financial devastation that can come as a result of a lawsuit can put you out of business. It’s important to prepare for any eventuality with a solid policy in place for protection.

Here are the top reasons why doctors like you get sued:

1. Failure to diagnose or delay diagnosis. If you fail to catch or diagnose an illness or disease, such as cancer, you could be at risk for a lawsuit. These cases can account for more than 60 percent of all medical malpractice instances.

2. Failure to follow proper safety procedures. When doctors are tired or mentally distracted, mistakes can happen during surgery or treatment. It’s usually best to reschedule the procedure rather than run the risk of mistake due to factors like sleep deprivation resulting in poor performance.

3. Failure to consult in a timely manner. Doctors who cannot pinpoint the exact cause of a patient’s illness after the first couple of visits usually seek advice from their fellow doctors. Failure to get the patient the answers they need in a timely manner so treatment can begin may prompt a lawsuit by the patient.

4. Errors in medication. Errors such as prescription-related mistakes or adverse drug reactions contribute to many medical malpractice cases.

5. Negligent fracture or trauma care. Most doctors will call for x-rays to be taken even where sprains are suspected in order to rule out a fracture or other trauma.

6. Failure to obtain consent. Expected outcomes, potential risks and reasonable alternatives must be documented by doctors through all patient interactions, discussions and visits.

7. Gender. Medscape says two-thirds of male doctors are sued compared with less than half of women. In addition, women are less likely to be the only named defendant and are sued less often than their male counterparts regardless of their specialty.

The stress of a potential lawsuit is usually enough to prompt most doctors to get the comprehensive medial malpractice insurance they need. In fact, more than half of doctors admit they worry about the threat of lawsuits much of the time, with only one percent saying they are not concerned with the potential. While most doctors win their medical malpractice lawsuits, the fear of facing a lengthy legal battle when it comes to years of unpredictable courts, clients, depositions, and damage to their reputation is a big factor.

It’s unwise at this point in your career to leave your financial future and reputation up to chance. Call The Kerr Agency today to get the right coverage you need and find out what we can offer you in terms of a custom policy to meet your medical malpractice needs.