Barthel Erik R, Stabile Bruce E, Plurad David, Kim Dennis, Neville Angela, Bricker Scott, Putnam Brant, Bongard Fred
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, Torrance, California, USA.
Am Surg. 2014 Oct;80(10):1007-11.
Medical negligence claims are of increasing concern to surgeons. Although noneconomic damage awards in California are limited by the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) law to $250,000, the total amount of such settlements can increase significantly based on claims for economic damages. We reviewed negligence litigation involving California surgeons to determine outcomes and monetary awards through retrospective review of surgical malpractice cases published in a legal journal. This review was limited to actions involving general surgeons. Such litigation was voluntarily reported by either defense's or plaintiff's counsel at the conclusion of the litigation. Data reviewed included alleged damages incurred by the plaintiff; plaintiff's pretrial settlement demand, plaintiff or defense verdict, use of alternate means of resolution such as arbitration or mediation, and total monetary award to the plaintiff. A total of 69 cases were reported over a 20-month period: 32 (46%) were plaintiffs' verdicts, whereas 37 (54%) were in favor of the surgeon. Only 10 (31%) of the plaintiff verdicts were by jury trial, whereas the rest were settled by pretrial agreement, mediation, or arbitration. Of cases settled by alternate dispute resolution, the median settlement was $820,000 (n = 22) compared with a median jury trial award of $300,000 (n = 10).
医疗过失索赔越来越受到外科医生的关注。尽管加利福尼亚州的非经济损害赔偿受《医疗伤害赔偿改革法》（MICRA）限制，最高为25万美元，但基于经济损害索赔，此类和解的总金额可能会大幅增加。我们通过回顾一份法律期刊上发表的外科医疗事故案例，对涉及加利福尼亚州外科医生的过失诉讼进行了审查，以确定结果和金钱赔偿。这项审查仅限于涉及普通外科医生的诉讼。此类诉讼由辩护方或原告方律师在诉讼结束时自愿报告。审查的数据包括原告声称遭受的损害；原告的审前和解要求、原告或辩护方的裁决、是否使用仲裁或调解等替代解决方式，以及判给原告的总金钱赔偿。在20个月的时间里共报告了69起案件：32起（46%）是原告胜诉，而37起（54%）有利于外科医生。原告胜诉的案件中只有10起（31%）是通过陪审团审判，其余的通过审前协议、调解或仲裁解决。在通过替代争议解决方式解决的案件中，和解金额中位数为82万美元（n = 22），而陪审团审判裁决的中位数为30万美元（n = 10）。
