TABLE 1.

Annual Percentage of Pediatricians With a Malpractice Claim Compared With Other Physician Specialties

	Pediatricians	All Other Physicians	High-Risk Specialties	Low-Risk Specialties
Number of physicians	1630	39 918	6115	11 928
Number of physician-years	7581	235 567	37 129	73 696
Any claim in year, % (P value)	3.1	7.6 (<.001)	14.1 (<.001)	4.5 (<.001)
Claim with indemnity payment in year, % (P value)	0.5	1.6 (<.001)	3.3 (<.001)	1.0 (.002)
Claim with payment ≥$750 000 in year, % (P value)	0.16	0.17 (.86)	0.22 (.33)	0.13 (.59)
Claim with payment ≥$1 million in year, % (P value)	0.13	0.11 (.57)	0.14 (.94)	0.08 (.27)

High- and low-risk specialties were defined according to the proportion of physicians with a malpractice claim in a year. High-risk specialties included neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and plastic surgery. Low-risk specialties included dermatology, family general practice, psychiatry, and other specialties. P values reflect a 2-tailed comparison of malpractice claim rates between pediatricians and all other physicians, high-risk specialties, or low-risk specialties.