TABLE 3.
Injury Outcomes of Obstetric Malpractice
| Injury Outcomes | No. Lawsuits | Median Indemnity Payment, $ | High Payment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Payment Rate, % | Without High Payment (<$100,000) | With High Payment (≥$100,000) | P | |||
| Injury | ||||||
| 1 Unidentified neonatal injury | 407 (11.8) | 7,596 | 2.2 | 398 | 9 | <0.001 |
| 2 Minor neonatal injury | 63 (1.8) | 10,744 | 0.0 | 63 | 0 | |
| 3 Moderate neonatal injury | 323 (9.4) | 24,415 | 5.3 | 306 | 17 | |
| 4 Major neonatal injury* | 286 (8.3) | 47,659 | 24.5 | 216 | 70 | |
| 5 Unidentified maternal injury | 154 (4.5) | 5,743 | 0.6 | 153 | 1 | |
| 6 Minor maternal injury | 94 (2.8) | 15,087 | 0.0 | 94 | 0 | |
| 7 Moderate maternal injury | 196 (5.7) | 30,943 | 5.6 | 185 | 11 | |
| 8 Major maternal injury† | 65 (1.9) | 68,562 | 35.4 | 42 | 23 | |
| 9 Both maternal and neonatal injury | 15 (0.4) | 28,794 | 13.3 | 13 | 2 | |
| Death | ||||||
| 10 Fetal death | 180 (5.2) | 9,971 | 3.3 | 174 | 6 | |
| 11 Neonatal death | 1027 (29.8) | 34,157 | 4.3 | 983 | 44 | |
| 12 Maternal death | 389 (11.3) | 52,502 | 20.8 | 308 | 81 | |
| 13 Maternal death with child injury | 11 (0.3) | 84,642 | 36.4 | 7 | 4 | |
| 14 Maternal injury with child death | 113 (3.3) | 25,366 | 12.4 | 99 | 14 | |
| 15 Deaths of both mother and child | 118 (3.5) | 48,128 | 13.6 | 102 | 16 | |
*Represents median indemnity payment of major neonatal injury higher than neonatal death and fetal death, P < 0.05.
†Represents the median indemnity payment of the major maternal injury was higher compared with maternal death, P < 0.05.