Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Dec;118(8):1388-96.
doi: 10.1007/s11547-013-0953-8. Epub 2013 Jun 25.

Malpractice claims related to musculoskeletal imaging. Incidence and anatomical location of lesions

Adriano Fileni  1 , Gaia Fileni, Paoletta Mirk, Giulia Magnavita, Marzia Nicoli, Nicola Magnavita
Affiliations

Malpractice claims related to musculoskeletal imaging. Incidence and anatomical location of lesions

Adriano Fileni et al. Radiol Med. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Failure to detect lesions of the musculoskeletal system is a frequent cause of malpractice claims against radiologists.

Materials and methods: We examined all the malpractice claims related to alleged errors in musculoskeletal imaging filed against Italian radiologists over a period of 14 years (1993-2006).

Results: During the period considered, a total of 416 claims for alleged diagnostic errors relating to the musculoskeletal system were filed against radiologists; of these, 389 (93.5%) concerned failure to report fractures, and 15 (3.6%) failure to diagnose a tumour.

Conclusions: Incorrect interpretation of bone pathology is among the most common causes of litigation against radiologists; alone, it accounts for 36.4% of all malpractice claims filed during the observation period. Awareness of this risk should encourage extreme caution and diligence.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2005 Mar;21(3):165-9 - PubMed
    1. JAMA. 2005 Jun 1;293(21):2609-17 - PubMed
    1. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1986 Dec;147(6):1291-8 - PubMed
    1. Radiol Med. 2009 Sep;114(6):996-1008 - PubMed
    1. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1995 Oct;165(4):781-8 - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources