Orthopaedic adult reconstruction subspecialists are sued for alleged medical malpractice at a rate over twice that of the
physician population as a whole, and the rate appears disproportionately high in the first decade of practice. The overall
risk of a malpractice claim is related to years spent in practice. After 30 years in an adult reconstruction practice, the
cumulative rate of being sued at least once is over 90%. Previous investigations suggest factors such as practice setting
and size, fellowship training, years in practice, volume, and location of practice correlate with malpractice risk. In contrast,
we were unable to identify any relationship between the type, size, or location of practice, fellowship training, or surgery
volume and the risk of an adult reconstruction surgeon being named as a defendant in a malpractice suit.
Level of Evidence: Level V, economic and decision analysis. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
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