Patient personal injury litigation against dermatology residency programs in the United States, 1964-1988. Implications for future risk-management programs in dermatology and dermatologic surgery

Legal claims in English dermatological practice

“…The majority of NHS claims pertained to (i) misdiagnosis or (ii) phototherapy, compared with the majority of private claims which related to (i) laser treatment or (ii) misdiagnosis. This study along with two previous US studies demonstrate that skin cancer and dermatological surgery are common causes of litigation in dermatology 4,5 …”

Legal claims in Scottish National Health Service Dermatology Departments 1989-2001

“…The 40% figure for claim settlement in this report mirrors figures from the U.S.A 4 . The absolute value of settlement costs are relatively modest and are a general reflection of the Scottish legal system where settlements are usually lower than comparable cases in England.…”

Risk management in dermatology: an analysis of data available from several British-based reporting systems

“…Two therapeutic claims involved overdose with methotrexate. In the U.S.A., 50% of all claims in dermatology relate to surgery or therapeutic complications 5 …”

“…Involvement of incorrectly trained medical or nursing staff who fail to follow the strict procedures may result in patients receiving substandard advice. Experience in the U.S.A. from 1990 indicates that injury litigation was experienced by a half of all respondents in residency programmes, and that this related to therapeutic or surgical complications in 50% of cases 5 …”