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Nursing Home Litigation and Tort Reform: A Case for Exceptionalism

Correspondence: Address correspondence to David Studdert, LLB, ScD, MPH, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail: studdert{at}hsph.harvard.edu

The medical malpractice crisis that is currently spreading across the United States bears many similarities to earlier crises. One novel aspect of the current crisis is the explicit inclusion of litigation against nursing homes as a target of reform. Encouraged by the nursing home industry, policymakers are considering the extension of conventional medical malpractice tort reforms to the nursing home sector. In this article, we caution against such an approach. Nursing home litigation has a number of distinctive features that raise serious questions about the wisdom of implementing reforms generically across the care continuum. Drawing on findings from our previous study of nursing home litigation, we outline these features and argue for careful attention to them as policymakers evaluate options for reform.

Key Words: Long-term care • Nursing homes • Medical malpractice • Lawsuits