The frequency and severity of medical malpractice claims.

Abstract

THE early seventies witnessed a rapid increase in the frequency and severity of medical malpractice claims.' In California, for example, both frequency and severity increased at an average rate of almost 20 percent per annum, cumulating to yield an increase in total claim costs per physician of roughly 40 percent per annum.2 As striking as the growth over time is the variation among states. For example, in 1976 there was an 18-fold range in malpractice claim frequency, per capita or per physician, and a 30-fold range in severity. At the time of the 1975 medical malpractice "crisis," the explosion of claims was attributed to many factors, including growth in the number and complexity of medical treatments; pro-plaintiff trends in common law in general, and in particular the demise of traditional malpractice defenses such as charitable immunity and the locality rule; an increase in the number of lawyers and passage of no-fault automobile legislation in some states; and such intangible factors as the erosion of physician-patient relationships. In response to the crisis, tort "reforms" were enacted in most states during 1975 and 1976. These measures vary in detail from state to state, but their common purpose is to control claim costs by limiting the size of