A detailed analysis of pediatric surgical malpractice claims in Germany: what is the probability of a pediatric surgeon to be accused or convicted?

AIM OF THE STUDY: Pediatric surgeons treat a vulnerable population in which unfavorable outcome can lead to substantial long-term costs, placing them at risk for malpractice claims. This study aims to characterize the frequency and circumstances in which malpractice claims were successfully brought against pediatric surgeons in Germany over the last 5 years. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anonymous data on medical treatment errors and payments were acquired from the Federal Chamber of Physicians from 2014 through 2018 and analyzed for most frequent diagnoses and circumstances that resulted in accusation or conviction. Those claims that were successfully rebutted were compared to as controls. Lifetime risk for being involved in litigation and its outcome was calculated. RESULTS: There were 129 medical malpractice claims over the 5-year observation period. Medical error was confirmed in 56 cases (43%); the rest were successfully appealed. The risk of the prototypical German pediatric surgeon to be accused was 5.24% and to be convicted 2.27% per year in practice. The most common reasons for conviction (alone or in combination) were surgical-technical errors (23%), treatment delay (21%), insufficient workup (17%), incorrect diagnosis (17%), and incomplete consent (16%).The most frequent circumstances leading to a conviction were trauma (27%), inguinal hernia (7%), circumcision (7%), testicular torsion (7%), acute abdomen (7%), and appendicitis (5%). CONCLUSION: Over a 40-year career, pediatric surgeons in Germany face an average calculated risk of 2.1 to be accused and 0.9 to be convicted of malpractice claims. Certain circumstances pose higher risks for litigation than others. Knowledge of these patterns may help practitioners avoid medicolegal confrontation.