This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Gerald B. Hickson, MD; Ellen Wright Clayton, MD, JD; Penny B. Githens, MS; Frank A. Sloan, PhD

JAMA. 1992;267(10):1359-1363.

Abstract
Objective.
—To identify self-reported reasons that prompt families to file malpractice claims following perinatal injuries.

Design.
—Families were interviewed by telephone using a questionnaire that contained structured and open-ended questions.

Participants.
—Mothers of infants who had experienced permanent injuries or deaths and had closed malpractice claims in Florida between 1986 and August 1989 were interviewed. Questionnaires were completed by 127 (35%) of a total of 368 such families.

Outcome Measures.
—Reasons prompting families to file and families' descriptions of medical events, advice from acquaintances, and the quality of physician-family communication.

Results.
—Families volunteered numerous reasons for filing: advised by knowledgeable acquaintances (33% of respondents), recognized cover-up (24%), needed money (24%), recognized that their child would have no future (23%), needed information (20%), and decided to seek revenge or protect others from harm (19%). Over one third of all families indicated that they were told by medical personnel prior to filing that the care provided had caused their children's injuries. Families expressed dissatisfaction with physician-patient communication. Families believed that physicians would not listen (13% of sample), would not talk openly (32%), attempted to mislead them (48%), or did not warn about long-term neurodevelopmental problems (70%).

Conclusion.
—Families give many reasons for filing a claim. Obtaining money may not be the only goal for some families who file suit.

(JAMA. 1992;267:1359-1363)

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Pediatrics (Drs Hickson and Clayton), School of Law (Dr Clayton), Health Policy Center, Institute for Public Policy Studies (Ms Githens), and Department of Economics (Dr Sloan), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Division of General Pediatrics, 3963 The Vanderbilt Clinic, Nashville, TN 37232-5577 (Dr Hickson).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Content analysis of patient complaints
Montini et al.
Int J Qual Health Care 2008;20:412-420.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medical Diagnoses Commonly Associated With Pediatric Malpractice Lawsuits in the United States
McAbee et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:e1282-e1286.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medical Malpractice and the Chest Physician
Luce
Chest 2008;134:1044-1050.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Predicting patient complaints in hospital settings
Kline et al.
Qual Saf Health Care 2008;17:346-350.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Communicating With Children and Families: From Everyday Interactions to Skill in Conveying Distressing Information
Levetown and and the Committee on Bioethics
Pediatrics 2008;121:e1441-e1460.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patient-actor perception of care: a comparison of obstetric emergency training using manikins and patient-actors
Crofts et al.
Qual Saf Health Care 2008;17:20-24.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Relation of patients' experiences with individual physicians to malpractice risk
Rodriguez et al.
Int J Qual Health Care 2008;20:5-12.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Unexpected Intraoperative Patient Death: The Imperatives of Family- and Surgeon-Centered Care
Taylor et al.
Arch Surg 2008;143:87-92.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Physician Scores on a National Clinical Skills Examination as Predictors of Complaints to Medical Regulatory Authorities
Tamblyn et al.
JAMA 2007;298:993-1001.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Addressing Parents' Concerns About Childhood Immunizations: A Tutorial for Primary Care Providers
Levi
Pediatrics 2007;120:18-26.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disclosing Harmful Medical Errors to Patients
Gallagher et al.
NEJM 2007;356:2713-2719.
FULL TEXT  

Rural Community Members' Perceptions of Harm from Medical Mistakes: A High Plains Research Network (HPRN) Study
Van Vorst et al.
J Am Board Fam Med 2007;20:135-143.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Parental Satisfaction With Early Pediatric Care and Immunization of Young Children: The Mediating Role of Age-Appropriate Well-Child Care Utilization
Schempf et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:50-56.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disclosure Of Medical Injury To Patients: An Improbable Risk Management Strategy
Studdert et al.
Health Aff (Millwood) 2007;26:215-226.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Aviation Model Cognitive Risk Factors Applied to Medical Malpractice Cases
Stripe et al.
J Am Board Fam Med 2006;19:627-632.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Accountability sought by patients following adverse events from medical care: the New Zealand experience.
Bismark et al.
CMAJ 2006;175:889-894.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Choosing Your Words Carefully: How Physicians Would Disclose Harmful Medical Errors to Patients.
Gallagher et al.
Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1585-1593.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medical and Legal Issues Related to Brachial Plexus Injuries in Neonates
McAbee and Ciervo
JAOA: Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 2006;106:209-212.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Relationship between patient complaints and surgical complications
Murff et al.
Qual Saf Health Care 2006;15:13-16.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Medical-Legal Aspects of Informed Consent in Orthopaedic Surgery
Bhattacharyya et al.
JBJS 2005;87:2395-2400.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disclosing Harmful Medical Errors to Patients: A Time for Professional Action
Gallagher and Levinson
Arch Intern Med 2005;165:1819-1824.
FULL TEXT  

Disclosure of medical error: policies and practice
Kalra et al.
JRSM 2005;98:307-309.
FULL TEXT  

Fostering Rational Regulation of Patient Safety
Mello et al.
Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law 2005;30:375-426.
ABSTRACT  

Medical Errors
Holder
ASH Education Book 2005;2005:503-506.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Always Having to Say You're Sorry: an ethical response to making mistakes in professional practice
Crigger
Nurs Ethics 2004;11:568-576.
ABSTRACT  

Communicating With Patients About Medical Errors: A Review of the Literature
Mazor et al.
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:1690-1697.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Mediation Skills Model To Manage Disclosure Of Errors And Adverse Events To Patients
Liebman and Hyman
Health Aff (Millwood) 2004;23:22-32.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Health Care on Trial: America's Medical Malpractice Crisis
Kereiakes and Willerson
Circulation 2004;109:2939-2941.
FULL TEXT  

Health Plan Members' Views about Disclosure of Medical Errors
Mazor et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2004;140:409-418.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medical Malpractice
Studdert et al.
NEJM 2004;350:283-292.
FULL TEXT  

Medical school attended as a predictor of medical malpractice claims
Waters et al.
Qual Saf Health Care 2003;12:330-336.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Hospitals Disclosing Harm
Federico
Health Aff (Millwood) 2003;22:248-248.
FULL TEXT  

Hospital Disclosure Practices: Results Of A National Survey
Lamb et al.
Health Aff (Millwood) 2003;22:73-83.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patients' and Physicians' Attitudes Regarding the Disclosure of Medical Errors
Gallagher et al.
JAMA 2003;289:1001-1007.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Patient Complaints and Risk of Being Sued
Graham et al.
JAMA 2002;288:1585-1586.
FULL TEXT  

Patient Complaints and Malpractice Risk
Hickson et al.
JAMA 2002;287:2951-2957.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Reducing Legal Risk by Practicing Patient-Centered Medicine
Forster et al.
Arch Intern Med 2002;162:1217-1219.
FULL TEXT  

A system of medical error disclosure
Liang
Qual Saf Health Care 2002;11:64-68.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Institutional Ethics Committees
Committee on Bioethics
Pediatrics 2001;107:205-209.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Survey of Physician Training Programs in Risk Management and Communication Skills for Malpractice Prevention
Lefevre et al.
J Law Med Ethics 2000;28:258-266.
 

A Study of Patient Clues and Physician Responses in Primary Care and Surgical Settings
Levinson et al.
JAMA 2000;284:1021-1027.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Risk Management: Extreme Honesty May Be the Best Policy
Kraman and Hamm
ANN INTERN MED 1999;131:963-967.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Handling Hospital Errors: Is Disclosure the Best Defense?
Wu
ANN INTERN MED 1999;131:970-972.
FULL TEXT  

Patient Satisfaction: Quality of Care From the Patients' Perspective
Kirsner and Federman
Arch Dermatol 1997;133:1427-1431.
ABSTRACT  

Physicians' Experience With Allegations of Medical Malpractice in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Meadow et al.
Pediatrics 1997;99:e10-e10.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Error in Medicine
Fetters
JAMA 1995;274:458-458.
ABSTRACT  

Preserving the Physician-Patient Relationship in the Era of Managed Care
Emanuel and Dubler
JAMA 1995;273:323-329.
ABSTRACT  

Obstetricians' Prior Malpractice Experience and Patients' Satisfaction With Care
Hickson et al.
JAMA 1994;272:1583-1587.
ABSTRACT  

The Relationship Between Malpractice Claims History and Subsequent Obstetric Care
Entman et al.
JAMA 1994;272:1588-1591.
ABSTRACT  

Are You and Your Waiting Room's Televised "Expert" Saying the Same Thing?
Hickson and Clayton
CLIN PEDIATR 1993;32:172-174.
 

The Death of a Baby: Neither Forgiven Nor Forgotten
Feilich
JAMA 1992;268:1413-1414.
ABSTRACT