Med Mal: What Determines the Size of Settlements?

In its latest newsletter, the Cambridge Economics Group is featuring an article by its Chief Economist, David M. Frankel, titled, "What Determines Malpractice Payments?" (pdf). This free article is the first part of a series and examines how certain patient-related factors like age and gender influence the size of malpractice settlements and judgments. Later articles will address "case venue, allegations, practitioner age" and other factors.

Frankel's analysis is based on information from the National Practitioners Data Bank, which includes (by law) data from all malpractice settlements and judgments.

For malpractice junkies, the article is worth a look.