Medical Malpractice Against Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeons: An Analysis of Clinical and Legal Characteristics Over a 20-Year Period.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Surgical specialties such as orthopaedic surgery are subject to a disproportionate number of medical negligence cases per year. Cases involving pediatric orthopaedic conditions or plaintiffs who are minors constitute a small portion of orthopaedic malpractice cases but consistently demonstrate the highest payouts or plaintiff verdicts. By querying the Westlaw Legal database, this study aims to characterize cases involving fellowship-trained, board-certified, pediatric orthopaedic surgeons as the defendants.

Methods

A retrospective query spanning 20 years (1/1/2004-12/31/2023) of the Westlaw Legal Database was conducted using the following search terms: "orthopaedic" or "orthopaedic" or "orthopedist" and "pediatric" and "malpractice." Twenty-two cases were identifi

SUBMITTER: Williams CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12756706 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature