AI on Trial: The Rising Liability Risks of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the way medicine is practiced and raising profound new questions about liability, accountability, and patient safety. Deepika Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer at The Doctors Company, discusses with Medical Economics how AI is beginning to influence medical malpractice and why the legal system isn’t yet ready for what’s coming.

Claim Frequency for Physician Malpractice Insurance Is Increasing

Healthcare tort reform in the early 2000s kept claim frequency for physician malpractice insurance flat for two decades. This year, however, The Doctors Company is seeing frequency creep up for the first time since those changes. Physicians’ insurers are struggling with the same loss inflation challenges as other liability peers. Robert E. White, Jr., President of The Doctors Company and TDC Group, discusses The Doctors Company’s latest study, “Nuclear Verdicts and Rising Costs: How Inflation Is Impacting Medical Malpractice Claims,” claims frequency and severity trends, and the importance of tort reform in a feature article by Insurance Insider.

AM Best Revises Outlooks to Positive for The Doctors Company and Subsidiaries

AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed The Doctors Company’s financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a+”. The positive outlooks, FSR of A, and long-term ICR of “a+” have been affirmed for The Doctors Company, an Interinsurance Exchange, and its core subsidiaries, which collectively comprise The Doctors Company Insurance Group. The FSR of A is assigned only to select companies with excellent ability to meet ongoing insurance obligations. The “a+” ICR is assigned to entities that have an excellent ability to meet their ongoing senior financial obligations.

What Clinicians Need to Know About Tail Coverage: Common and Costly Misconceptions

For many clinicians, extended reporting period coverage, commonly referred to as “tail coverage,” is a vaguely familiar term that they may associate with job change or retirement. In this Medical Economics article, Laura Archer, CPCU, Vice President, Underwriting, The Doctors Company, discusses what tail coverage is and provides recommendations for when physicians should consider their options.

The Doctors Company Receives Datos Insights 2025 Impact Award for Insurance Innovation

The Doctors Company has received a 2025 Datos Insights Impact Award for Insurance Innovation. The awards program recognizes organizations that demonstrate excellence in implementing innovative technology solutions that drive measurable business results and industry leadership. The award highlights The Doctors Company’s success in translating a strong innovation culture into measurable impact, with employee-driven initiatives earning industry-wide recognition.

New Resources on Top Topics in Healthcare

The Doctors Company offers a wealth of expert resources and insights across a wide range of top healthcare topics. Our most recent resources include:

Telehealth: Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to pressing questions about telehealth, including licensing, informed consent, and reimbursement issues.

Midwives, When Do You Escalate? 5 Strategies for Collaboration, Comanagement, and Referral
One of the greatest sources of liability for midwives is delays in escalating care. By laying the groundwork for care escalation in advance, all practitioners and practices can promote patient safety while mitigating their own liability risks.

To Mitigate Negligence Risks, CRNAs Must Adhere to Standards of Practice—and Document the Story of Their Care
Many certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) worry about what will happen if they are reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), but because the reporting process and its implications are often misunderstood, some of these worries may be unfounded. Understanding more about the NPDB can allay CRNAs’ potential concerns about their professional prospects.

New Models of Personalized Tech-Enabled Care Delivery
Ami Parekh, MD, JD, Chief Health Officer, Included Health, and Member, Board of Governors, The Doctors Company, presented at the 2025 TDC Group Executive Advisory Board Meeting about Included Health’s work to raise the standard of healthcare through all-in-one personalized care.

A Giant Leap: Lessons From the Early Days of Gen AI in Healthcare
Robert M. Wachter, MD, Internist; Chair, Department of Medicine, UCSF; and Member, Board of Governors, The Doctors Company, presented at the 2025 TDC Group Executive Advisory Board Meeting about how healthcare has been transformed in the early days of AI.

A Conversation on the Changing Payment System, Workforce Shortages, and New Models of Care
Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, CEO of SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan and Contributing Author for Forbes Magazine, presented at the 2025 TDC Group Executive Advisory Board Meeting about risks, challenges, and opportunities in the healthcare system now and in the future.

Patient Safety Strategies for Dermatology
Take steps to reduce risks in dermatology by reviewing your practices and systems and implementing these strategies.

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The Doctor’s Advocate is published by The Doctors Company to advise and inform its members about loss prevention and insurance issues.

The guidelines suggested in this newsletter are not rules, do not constitute legal advice, and do not ensure a successful outcome. They attempt to define principles of practice for providing appropriate care. The principles are not inclusive of all proper methods of care nor exclusive of other methods reasonably directed at obtaining the same results.

The ultimate decision regarding the appropriateness of any treatment must be made by each healthcare provider considering the circumstances of the individual situation and in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the care is rendered.

The Doctor’s Advocate is published quarterly by Corporate Communications, The Doctors Company. Letters and articles, to be edited and published at the editor’s discretion, are welcome. The views expressed are those of the letter writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official policy of The Doctors Company. Please sign your letters, and address them to the editor.