Gastroenterologists perform more procedures per physician than nearly any other specialty, and the volume carries risk.
Colonoscopy remains the most litigated procedure in GI, but the landscape extends to ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography), missed diagnoses and wrong-patient errors.
Here are five numbers that define where GI malpractice exposure stands:
0.34% to 2.5%: Rates of serious injury due to colonoscopies vary in research between 0.34% and 2.5%, according to a law firm Miller and Zois analysis. The risk of bowel perforation specifically is estimated at 0.2% to 1%. Perforation is the most litigated injury, but hemorrhage following polyp removal, splenic injury and sepsis also appear regularly in malpractice filings.