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Chiropractic malpractice:fewer claims than MDs

A study in the November 11, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the number of malpractice claims made against chiropractors is much less than that of medical practitioners.

 

In 1990, there were 2.7 claims for every 100 chiropractic malpractice policy holders in the United States. In that same year, there were 7.7 claims for every 100 medical malpractice policy holders, a 285% higher rate than chiropractic's rate.

 

The 1996 figures are even more out of balance. In 1996, there were 2.6 claims for every 100 chiropractic policy holders, a slight decrease. There were 9.0 claims for every 100 medical policy holders in that same year, a 333% higher rate than chiropractic and a 1.3% higher rate than their 1990 figures. Overall in the 1990s, the chiropractic rate remained consistently between 2.2 and 3 claims per 100 policy holders and medicine's rate fluctuated between 7.7 and 9.8.

 

According of the authors of the study, "The best explanation for the relative infrequency and lower severity of claims against [wellness] practitioners concerns the nature of [wellness] therapies. Since rates of medical injury increase with invasiveness of therapy, fewer bases for suit are likely to present in the largely noninvasive [wellness] setting. Moreover, injuries that do occur may not be as severe." s