Which specialties are least / most likely to be sued (unfairly)?

[glee123]

---

Members don't see this ad.

My current impression is on the high end, OBGYN, gen. surgery, vascular, ortho, neurosurg; on the low end, FM, psychiatry, PMR, anesthesia (?), pediatrics (?). Am I missing or incorrect about anything?

As another question, do academic physicians generally get sued less than their private practice counterparts?

 

[RTC19]

As a general rule things that are more procedural have more room for accidents to happen and people to get sued. Another high-litigation specialty not on your list but worth adding is Emergency Medicine. The nature of their job is to pick out people having medical emergencies from things that can be sent home and dealt with outpatient. Emergency physicians can get sued when people pass away soon after being discharged from the emergency department when it turns out something serious and life-ending was missed.

 

[Sky138]

Lowest: forensic pathology

 

[LizzyM]

I think that the forensic pathologists are a subset that are likely to be sued and unlikely to have judgements against them. On the other hand, missing a cancer diagnosis is one of the most common reasons for suing general internists and might be one of the top reasons for suing family medicine docs, too. That's where pathologists are likely to have the most trouble winning a malpractice suit.

 

[97premed97]

Lowest: forensic pathology

I was literally going to comment this one haha. They are probably the most likely to be in a courtroom out of all specialties, but that is because they serve as expert witnesses in cases, not a defendant.