Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Involving Anesthesiology Residents: An Analysis of the National Westlaw Database

Abstract

Background: Medical specialties have evaluated malpractice claims in residents, but to the best of our knowledge, malpractice claims have not been evaluated in anesthesiology residents. Methods:The Westlaw legal database was queried for all malpractice litigation cases involving anesthesiology residents in the United States from January 1959 through December 2018. The cases were divided into 2 cohorts by year (before and after 1990) to account for the differences in patient safety features and monitoring available in the different time periods.Results: Ninety cases were included in the analysis. The median (interquartile range) for inflation adjusted payments was $1 140 544 (0 to 4 158 589). There was no association between the year the claim was filled and the payment amount, Spearman rho = -0.17, P = 0.15. In contrast, for claims that occurred in the intraoperative period, there was a moderate negative association between the year of the claim and the inflation adjusted payment, Spearman rho = -0.45, P = 0.003.