title: Incidence of and risk factors for medical malpractice lawsuits among Mohs surgeons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite rising medical malpractice costs, little is known about the factors associated with claims filed against Mohs surgeons.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We sought to define the scope of medical malpractice claims filed against Mohs surgeons and to identify salient factors associated with the filing and disposition of those claims.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive survey was mailed to 599 physicians with US addresses listed in the 2003 directory of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 300 completed surveys returned, 33 (11%) reported ever having been sued. Physicians who practiced Mohs surgery for a longer period of time were more likely to have been sued for malpractice. Physicians reported the wrong site and functional outcome as the most frequent causes of malpractice lawsuits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. perlis@stanfordalumni.org
authors.forename: Clifford S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Perlis
authors.forename: Ross M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Roy H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Perlis
authors.forename: Mohsin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Raymond G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Dufresne
mesh_terms: D003880:Dermatology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008318:Malpractice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015580:Mohs Surgery / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States