Medical Liability Reform

The AAOS strongly supports medical liability reform to improve patient safety, access to care, and reduce the cost of health care. Currently:

• 43 percent of physicians have reduced or eliminated high-risk aspects of their practice and nearly 50 percent of others plan to do so

• Critical specialists are becoming less available to provide emergency trauma care as specialists face higher medical liability exposure

• More than 30 percent of orthopaedists, obstetricians, trauma surgeons, emergency department physicians, and plastic and reconstructive surgeons are sued each year. In 86 percent of cases, the jury finds the doctor not negligent, yet the cost of defense can range from $24,000 to $90,000.

Important Resources

• AAOS Letter to Super Committee Urging the Importance of Medical Liability Reform
• AAOS Position Statement on Medical Liability Reform
• Health Coalition on Liability and Access (HCLA)
• American Tort Reform Association
• Common Good

For more information on this issue, please contact the Washington DC office of the AAOS at 202-546-4430.