Table 2.
Self-reported nature of claims in which AAHKS members have been named as malpractice defendant [25]
| Nature of claim | Number of claims |
|---|---|
| Nerve injury after total joint procedure | 64 |
| Limb-length discrepancy | 39 |
| Infection after total joint procedure | 34 |
| Vascular injury | 31 |
| Dislocation or instability of implants | 26 |
| Compartment syndrome | 22 |
| Chronic pain after total joint procedure | 19 |
| DVT/nonfatal PE/fatal PE (related specific surgical procedure not named in most cases) | 19 |
| Fracture related to total joint procedure | 18 |
| Nontotal joint procedure adverse outcome | 18 |
| Adverse skin-related event/outcome/complication | 17 |
| Implant malpositioning | 15 |
| Death | 14 |
| Adverse fracture complication/outcome | 13 |
| Other claims (minimal or no information given) | 13 |
| Fall after total joint procedure | 11 |
| Premature arthroplasty revision surgery | 9 |
| Lower extremity injury/fracture | 9 |
| Nontotal joint procedure infection | 9 |
| Nontotal joint procedure nerve injury | 9 |
| Failure to diagnose | 9 |
| Nontotal joint pain/RSD-related | 9 |
| Adverse systemic event | 9 |
| Upper extremity injury/fracture | 8 |
| Trauma-related case | 8 |
| Arthrofibrosis | 6 |
| Wrong site/side surgery | 5 |
| Adverse medication event | 5 |
| Hardware/cement related | 5 |
| Adverse anesthesia event | 4 |
| Other total joint procedure adverse outcome | 3 |
| Sulzer cup case | 2 |
| Wrong procedure | 2 |
| Failure to consent | 2 |
| Nontotal joint procedure fall | 1 |
| Retained sponge | 1 |
| Impaired mobility | 1 |
| Workers’ compensation - patient dissatisfaction with return to work date | 1 |
| Total | 490 |
Note: Many respondents reported more than one claim type; respondents not asked to name number of claims in each category, only types of claims they have been named in.