Study: Hospital, MD malpractice claim size up

While malpractice claims against hospitals and doctors have stabilized over the past year, the average claim size has gone up, according to the results of an annual study by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) and and risk management firm Aon. The study, which reviewed about 48,000 claims totaling $4.4 billion, found that for the second year in a row, the volume of claims filed held steady. However, it also found that average claim sizes continue to increase at a rate of six percent per year. Meanwhile, amounts paid to defend against liability claims have climbed 17 percent, which the study attributes to provider investments in risk management. This year, researchers also found that there there was a correlation between a hospital's mortality rate and the number of claims filed against the facility.

To get more background on the study:
- read the ASHRM/Aon release

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