Radiologists among physician specialists facing higher risk of being sued, AMA says

Radiology is among several physician specialties facing a higher risk of being sued, according to new research from the American Medical Association. 

About 38% of rads surveyed said they had defended against at least one lawsuit over the course of their career. That places the profession eighth on the AMA’s list, with OB-GYN specialists No. 1, at nearly 60%. 

AMA noted that physicians in radiology, general surgery (53%), other surgical specialties (51%), orthopedics (50%) and emergency medicine (42%) consistently experience much higher liability risk than other docs. 

The association emphasized that a claim does not mean a mistake was made, with most cases dropped or dismissed before trial. 

“Doctors continue to take on complex, high-risk care because patients depend on it,” AMA President Bobby Mukkamala, MD, said in a statement April 27. “However, the ongoing liability risk not only challenges physicians but it increases practice expenses, reinforces defensive medical practices, and drives up healthcare costs for patients and families.”

The findings are derived from 2022–2024 data from the association’s every-other-year Physician Practice Benchmark Survey. First launched in 2012, the poll includes a nationally representative sample of about 3,500 physicians who provided at least 20 hours of patient care, have completed residencies and aren’t employed by the federal government. Beginning in 2024, another 1,500 physicians were included, bringing the total survey sample to about 5,000. 

As of 2024, about 1.8% of all physicians said they had been sued in the previous year, and nearly 29% reported facing at least one lawsuit over the course of their career. This represents a moderate decline from the 2.3% who said they were sued the previous year as of 2016 and 34% who had been taken to court at least once. 

In radiology, about 3.9% of physicians said they had been sued in the previous year as of 2024. Approximately 38.2% of radiologists surveyed had been sued over the course of their career. And the number of claims ever filed per 100 radiologists was about 70, the AMA noted, with about 243 rads included in the sample. That’s compared to about 58 per 100 across all physicians. 

By age, about 19.2% of radiologists under 45 said they had been sued at least once. That’s compared to 42.3% of radiologists between 45–54 and 55% of those 55 and up. Overall, physicians with more years of practice have greater exposure to liability risk. About 45.2% of all docs 55 and up have been sued versus just 11% of those under 45. 

The American Medical Association also released a second report on Monday, which explores medical liability insurance premiums trends between 2016 and 2025. Premiums for such policies have increased nationwide for the seventh consecutive year, “marking the most prolonged upward trend since the early 2000s. Sustained premium growth began in 2018, with the share of premiums increase year-over-year rising sharply from 13.7% in 2018 to 39.9% as of last year. 

“Given the high costs and strain caused by a highly litigious climate and the drag it places on the nation’s healthcare system, the AMA continues to work with state and specialty medical societies and other stakeholders to advance medical liability reforms,” the association said in its announcement. “These efforts aim to fix the costly problems in the medical liability system while ensuring that injured patients are fairly compensated.”