Comparison of Emergency Medicine Malpractice Cases Involving Residents to Nonresident Cases

Data from the CRICO Strategies’ national Comparative Benchmarking System (CBS) was used to analyze open and closed EM cases asserted from 2009 to 2013.

Study Conclusions: There are higher total incurred losses in nonresident cases. There are higher severity scores in resident cases. The overall case profiles, including allegation categories, final diagnoses, and contributing factors between resident and nonresident cases are similar. Cases involving residents are more likely to involve certain technical skills, specifically vascular access and spinal procedures, which may have important implications regarding supervision. Clinical judgment, communication, and documentation are the most prevalent contributing factors in all cases and should be targets for risk reduction strategies.

Citation for the Full-text Article

Gurley KL, Grossman SA, Janes M, Yu-Moe CW, Song E, Tibbles CD, Shapiro NI, Rosen CL. Comparison of Emergency Medicine Malpractice Cases Involving Residents to Nonresident Cases. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2018 Sep;25(9):980-986. doi: 10.1111/acem.13430.