title: Eleven-year descriptive analysis of closed court verdicts on medical errors in Spain and Massachusetts.
abstract: To evaluate and compare the characteristics of court verdicts on medical errors allegedly harming patients in Spain and Massachusetts from 2002 to 2012.
  
  
  
  We reviewed 1041 closed court verdicts obtained from data on litigation in the Thomson Reuters Aranzadi Westlaw databases in Spain (Europe), and 370 closed court verdicts obtained from the Controlled Risk and Risk Management Foundation of Harvard Medical Institutions (CRICO/RMF) in Massachusetts (USA). We included closed court verdicts on medical errors. The definition of medical errors was based on that of the Institute of Medicine (USA). We excluded any agreements between parties before a judgement.
  
  
  
  Medical errors were involved in 25.9% of court verdicts in Spain and in 74% of those in Massachusetts. The most frequent cause of medical errors was a diagnosis-related problem (25.1%; 95% CI 20.7% to 31.1% in Spain; 35%; 95% CI 29.4% to 40.7% in Massachusetts). The proportion of medical errors classified as high severity was 34% higher in Spain than in Massachusetts (p=0.001). The most frequent factors contributing to medical errors in Spain were surgical and medical treatment (p=0.001). In Spain, 98.5% of medical errors resulted in compensation awards compared with only 6.9% in Massachusetts.
  
  
  
  This study reveals wide differences in litigation rates and the award of indemnity payments in Spain and Massachusetts; however, common features of both locations are the high rates of diagnosis-related problems and the long time interval until resolution.
authors: Risk Management Foundation of Harvard Medical Institutions, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Epidemiology and Evaluation Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain Escuela Superior de Enfermería del Mar, Centro adscrito a la Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain Programa de Doctorado en Metodología de la Investigación Biomédica y Salud Pública, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Madrid, Spain.
authors: Priscila
authors: P
authors: Giraldo
authors: Risk Management Foundation of Harvard Medical Institutions, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Luke
authors: L
authors: Sato
authors: Tobacco Control Unit, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Institut Català d'Oncologia, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain Cancer Prevention and Control Group, Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge-IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain Biostatistics Unit, Department of Basic Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain Public Health Advocacy Institute, Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Jose M
authors: JM
authors: Martínez-Sánchez
authors: Epidemiology and Evaluation Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Madrid, Spain.
authors: Mercè
authors: M
authors: Comas
authors: Risk Management Foundation of Harvard Medical Institutions, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Kathy
authors: K
authors: Dwyer
authors: Epidemiology and Evaluation Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Madrid, Spain Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Sala
authors: Epidemiology and Evaluation Department, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), Madrid, Spain Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Xavier
authors: X
authors: Castells
mesh_terms: D035881:Compensation and Redress; D006801:Humans; D033222:Judicial Role; D008318:Malpractice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008404:Massachusetts; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000145:classification / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012308:Risk Management; D013030:Spain
keywords: ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY MEDICINE; EPIDEMIOLOGY; FORENSIC MEDICINE