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Medical malpractice claims in obstetrics and gynaecology: comparisons between the United States and Britain
Author(s) -
QUAM LOIS,
WALL ROBERT DING,
FENN PAUL
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb12796.x
Subject(s) - malpractice , obstetrics and gynaecology , medicine , family medicine , obstetrics , medical malpractice , gynecology , pregnancy , political science , law , biology , genetics
Summary. Obstetricians and gynaecologists have been particularly affected by the increase in the cost and number of medical malpractice claims in Britain. US obstetricians and gynaecologists have experienced a disproportionately higher rate of claim than other practitioners in that country. This article reviews the US experience of obstetrics and gynaecology malpractice claims and questions the validity of showing comparisons between the US and the UK. However, even if British malpractice claims do not reach the level of American claims, the effects of claims on the National Health Service, recruitment to obstetrics and gynaecology, and clinical practice are significant.