ANESTHESIA-RELATED CLAIMS IN THE UNIVERSI TY HOSPITALS OF PARIS

Objective: To evaluate the number and the reason of anaesthesia-relate d malpractice claims in university hospitals of Paris. Study design: R etrospective study. Methods: From December 1977 to December 1994, 1 18 5 claims, originating from all departments, dental trauma excluded, we re reviewed and classified by one medical expert. They were analyzed w ith regard to type of activity responsible for the damage. Results: Ou t of the 789 claims resulting from surgical activity, 41 were directly anaesthesia-related. The most frequent problems were the neurological complications of spinal or epidural anaesthesia (n = 10), and the con sequences of difficult intubation or aspiration of stomach contents (n = 5). A series of 19 damages due to posture was difficult to classify as surgery- or anaesthesia-related. In the 41 anaesthesia-related cla ims, an indemnification was alloted to seven (5.2%). This rate was sim ilar to that for surgical activity-related claims. However, the amount of the anaesthesia-related malpractice compensations was equivalent t o 26% of those alloted to the surgery-related claims and to two-thirds of the indemnifications equal to or above 2,000,000 FF. Conclusions: There are few anaesthesia-related claims in the Paris university hospi tals. Only few claims result in a compensation. By contrast, when a in demnification is alloted, its amount is very high. Locoregional anaest hesia seems to be at a higher risk for malpractice claims.