Research Catalog

Title

The disposition of medical malpractice claims / Patricia Munch Danzon ; prepared for the Health Care Financing Administration, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Author

Danzon, Patricia Munch, 1946-

Publication

Santa Monica, Ca. : Rand, 1980.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Rand Corporation.
• United States. Health Care Financing Administration.

Summary

A theoretical and empirical analysis of the disposition of malpractice claims compares the actual outcomes with the legal standard of payment equal to damages, if, and only if, negligence occurred. An economic model of the settlement process assumes that the litigants attempt to maximize wealth, subject to the legal standards of liability and damage, and the costs of litigating. The model predicts that awards in settlements out of court will reflect the expected verdict, the probability of the plaintiff's winning, and the costs of going to court. The probability of the plaintiff's winning in settlement will also reflect the probability of winning in court, the size of the expected verdict, and the costs of going to court. Evidence from three malpractice claims surveys is consistent with the legal standard but departs in ways predicted by the model. Characteristics of the injury, the plaintiff, and the defense influence the outcome.

Subject

• Insurance, Liability
• Judgments > United States
• Malpractice
• Medical personnel > Malpractice > United States

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-72).

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

OCLC

6735700

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library