Malpractice claims closed against hospital defendants in Florida: 1986–1993
✍ Scribed by James Studnicki; Robert R. Campbell; Dennis C. Werner; Randall Remmel
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 623 KB
- Volume
- 16
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1074-4797
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Objective — To provide a statewide trend analysis of all hospital malpractice claims, payment amounts, and their distribution by location of the event within hospitals.
Design — A retrospective, descriptive study of 7,819 hospital claims closed in the state of Florida during the period 1986 to 1993.
Results — Both total claims closed (1,756) and paid (655) peaked in 1987 and declined to lows of 507 and 338, respectively, in 1993. The percentage of claims receiving a payment, however, increased steadily from a low of just under 35 percent in 1988 to nearly 67 percent in 1993. More than $537 million has been paid for 3,409 claims. The average payment amount increased an inflation‐adjusted 71 percent, from $94,000 to $212,000. Claims resulting in awards of $1 million or more represented only 3.6 percent of paid claims, but accounted for 52 percent of the total dollars awarded.