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Medical Malpractice and Physician Liability Under a Negligence Rule

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  • Wright, Donald J.

Abstract

A model of costly medical malpractice claims, based on Bayes Rule, is developed to examine the effects of physicians being liable for actual damage under a negligence rule. This model is consistent with empirical evidence concerning the pattern of claims. It is shown that compensating actual damage does not provide physicians with appropriate incentives to spend the second best optimal amount of time with patients or to treat the second best optimal number of patients. As a result, too much medical malpractice occurs relative to the second best social optimum.

Suggested Citation

  • Wright, Donald J., 2011. "Medical Malpractice and Physician Liability Under a Negligence Rule," Working Papers 2011-04, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:syd:wpaper:2123/7705
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Danzon, Patricia M., 2000. "Liability for medical malpractice," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 26, pages 1339-1404, Elsevier.
    2. Steven Shavell, 1982. "On Liability and Insurance," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 120-132, Spring.
    3. Shavell, Steven, 1999. "The level of litigation: private versus social optimality of suit and of settlement," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 99-115, March.
    4. Marie‐Cécile Fagart & Claude Fluet, 2009. "Liability insurance under the negligence rule," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 40(3), pages 486-508, September.
    5. Steven Shavell, 2000. "On the Social Function and the Regulation of Liability Insurance," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 25(2), pages 166-179, April.
    6. Jennifer Arlen & W. Bentley MacLeod, 2005. "Torts, Expertise, and Authority: Liability of Physicians and Managed Care Organizations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(3), pages 494-519, Autumn.
    7. Frank A. Sloan & Lindsey M. Chepke, 2008. "Medical Malpractice," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262195720, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Yongmin & Li, Jianpei & Zhang, Jin, 2017. "Liability in Markets for Credence Goods," MPRA Paper 80206, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Dylan Martin-Lapoirie, 2022. "Teamwork in health care and medical malpractice liability: an experimental investigation," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 251-282, October.
    3. Kitamura Miguel (Masaru) & Arai Koki, 2022. "Impact of Shorter Trial Periods in Medical Litigation," Asian Journal of Law and Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(3), pages 301-322, December.

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    Keywords

    Medical Malpractice; Liability;

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