The jury found in favor of the defendant orthopedic surgeon in 61.7 percent of medical malpractice cases, according to a study in Orthopedics.
Here are six things to know on medical malpractice:
1. Study authors used the Westlaw legal database to analyze 82 state and federal orthopedic surgical medical malpractice cases.
2. The most commonly cited reasons for litigation were:
- Procedural error: 87.7 percent, or 71 cases
- Negligence: 71.6 percent, or 58 cases
3. Most litigation involved:
- Spine surgery: 25.9 percent, or 21 cases
- Knee surgery: 21 percent, or 17 cases
- Hip surgery: 11.6 percent, or 11 cases
4. The average payout for a verdict in favor of the plaintiff was $3,015,872.
5. The average settlement value was $1,570,833.
6. Cases involving male patients and patient death were more likely to lead to verdicts in favor of the plaintiff.