Medical Malpractice in Urology, 1985 to 2004: 469 Consecutive Cases Closed With Indemnity Payment

Abstract

In the current study surgical procedures were the greatest generator of claims with the most common being oncological. Emerging and new technologies, eg laparoscopy and robotics, did not account for the increase in indemnity payments observed to date. Only further investigation will determine whether this is secondary to a lag time in the closure of suits related to these emerging technologies or to a lack of such suits. The actual number of claims closed with indemnity payment yearly remained relatively constant. However, the indemnity payment per claim far outpaced that expected for inflation. The observed increase in indemnity payment per claim would appear to be a significant contributing factor to the current malpractice crisis in urology.