Jan 13, 2025Sports surgeons for elite athletes may not have enough legal coverage
Orthopedic sports medicine surgeons may not have sufficient legal coverage to care for large portions of athletes in the NFL, MLB, and NHL.
Lack of coverage may expose physicians to malpractice liabilities.“Recent public medical malpractice litigation has illuminated the liability that orthopedic surgeons assume when caring for elite/professional athletes,” Michael Pang, BS, from Harvard Medical School, and colleagues wrote in the study.
A recent story from Helio.com detailed the study and its findings. Below is an excerpt from Healio.com.
Pang and colleagues evaluated player contracts from the 2022 to 2023 season among 2,447 NFL players, 992 MLB players, and 980 NHL players to calculate risk ratios for $1 million and $3 million worth of annual occurrence-based malpractice liability awards covered by malpractice liability insurance, according to the study.
In their model, Pang and colleagues found sports medicine surgeons were financially eligible to treat 17.3% and 50% of NFL players, 43.2% and 59.7% of MLB players, and 13.6% and 41% of NHL players for $1 million and $3 million awards, respectively.
To obtain 95% coverage for athletes among all leagues, surgeons required malpractice coverage of $52.6 million for NFL players, $108.1 million for MLB players, and $64.1 million for NHL players.
Pang and colleagues noted the positions with the highest mean risk ratios based on $3 million awards were quarterback in the NFL (RR = 9.9), right field in the MLB (RR = 15.1), and center in the NHL (RR = 5.7).
“Medical malpractice risk should be an increased source of focused attention when discussing partnerships between professional sports franchises, hospital organizations, players, their agents and the treating sports medicine physician,” Pang and colleagues wrote. “Ensuring that physicians are adequately protected not only safeguards their well-being but also supports the health and safety of the athletes they serve.”
To read the full story from Healio.com, click here.