July 27, 2006

The study, released in May, found that approximately 40 percent of medical liability claims did not appear to arise from negligent injury. By contrast, the earlier and far-famed "Harvard study" of New York hospitals had indicated that the proportion of such claims in which no negligent injury can be identified is more like 80 percent. Specialty Insurance Blog published a useful overview of press reactions to the new study and points out that no little confusion may have arisen because Harvard's own press release, as well as many in the press, put a spin on the study that may not be justified by its actual findings.