Medical liability: Lawsuit chances take a toll

Our actions are influenced even when the odds are in our favor. So we save receipts (tax audit risk, 1 in 100), change the smoke detector battery (fire-related fatality odds, 1 in 1,235), and think twice about standing in the rain (chance of being struck by lightning,...

Litigation Fears Impact Physician Work Hours

A new study published in the Journal of Law and Economics (2009;54:635-663) has revealed that physicians work fewer hours when their risk of litigation increases. Researchers Eric Helland, of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif., and Mark H. Showalter, of...