Key result
Anesthesia-related nerve injury accounted for 15% of closed claims and resulted in a significantly lower median payment ($56,000) than other disabling anesthesia injuries ($225,000; P<0.01).
Population
1,541 claims from the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Study database
Design
Other
Authors
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Nerve injuries drive substantial anesthesia liability despite lower payouts; hypothesis-generating for targeted prevention studies.
Observational (n=1,541)
Absolute Event Rate: 56000% vs 225000%
p-value: p=<0.01
Nerve damage is a significant source of anesthesia-related claims (15%), most commonly involving the ulnar nerve, often without an identifiable mechanism.
Kroll et al. (1990) conducted an observational in Anesthesia-related injury leading to litigation (n=1,541). Anesthesia-related nerve injury vs. Anesthesia-related injury not involving nerve damage was evaluated on Median payment for claims involving disabling injury (p=<0.01). Anesthesia-related nerve injury accounted for 15% of closed claims and resulted in a significantly lower median payment ($56,000) than other disabling anesthesia injuries ($225,000; P<0.01).