Lessons in liability: Examining medical malpractice suits against general surgeons in Maryland

Although medical malpractice lawsuits pose a significant burden, there is a paucity of research on physician-specific characteristics influencing lawsuits against surgeons. Our objective was to identify factors associated with general surgeons being named in malpractice cases. This was a cross sectional study of Maryland general surgeons, using malpractice data from a publicly accessible judiciary database. Case number per decade and lifetime lawsuit status were modeled with linear and logistic regression. Male surgeons had a higher average lawsuit volume (p = 0.002) and were more likely to be named in a malpractice case (p