A Long, Unnerving Road: Malpractice Claims Involving the Surgical Management of Thyroid and Parathyroid Disease.
World J Surg
; 43(11): 2850-2855, 2019 11.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31384995
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Given their profound emotional, physical, and financial toll on patients and surgeons, we studied the characteristics, costs, and contributing factors of thyroid and parathyroid surgical malpractice claims.METHODS:
Using the Controlled Risk Insurance Company Strategies' Comparative Benchmarking System database, representing ~30% of all US paid and unpaid malpractice claims, 5384 claims filed against general surgeons and otolaryngologists from 1995-2015 were reviewed to isolate claims involving the surgical management of thyroid and parathyroid disease. These claims were studied, and multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with plaintiff payout.RESULTS:
One hundred twenty-eight thyroid and parathyroid surgical malpractice claims were isolated. The median time from alleged harm event to closure of a malpractice case was 39 months. The most common associated complications were bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury (n = 23) and hematoma (n = 18). Complications led to death in 18 cases. Patient payout occurred in 33% of claims (n = 42), and the median cost per claim was $277,913 (IQR $87,343-$783,663). On multivariable analysis, bilateral RLN injury was predictive of patient payout (OR 3.58, p = 0.03), while procedure, death, and surgeon specialty were not.CONCLUSION:
Though rare, malpractice claims related to thyroid and parathyroid surgery are costly, time-consuming, and reveal opportunities for early surgeon-patient resolution after poor outcomes.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Otolaringologia
/
Doenças das Paratireoides
/
Cirurgia Geral
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Doenças da Glândula Tireoide
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Imperícia
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article