INJURY, LIABILITY, AND THE DECISION TO FILE A MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CLAIM

The authors used two data sets based on interviews with families who s uffered an adverse birth outcome in Florida-either a stillbirth, an in fant death, or a permanent birth-related injury-to assess the decision to file a medical malpractice claim. These data were supplemented by medical evaluations of liability. The authors found that cases in whic h the physician evaluators thought the physician had been negligent we re much more likely to have become claims, as were more serious injuri es. Overall, the view of critics of the current medical malpractice sy stem that innocent physicians are just as likely, or more likely, to b e sued than the guilty ones and that patients sue when they do not obt ain a ''perfect result'' is not confirmed. Claims were less likely to result when the family had health insurance, either private or public, and when families who had been told by the physician that there might be a problem with the child. The mother's educational attainment and family income had no effect on the probability of claiming. Mothers wh o admitted to consuming alcohol during pregnancy were more likely to c laim.