In 1983, 16 out of every 100 U.S. physicians were sued for medical malpractice. The authors reviewed the courtroom results of all 144 lawsuits involving California radiologist defendants reported in Jury Verdicts Weekly (JVW) between 1971 and 1985. Almost half (66 of 144) of the lawsuits involved allegations of "failure to diagnose" (misinterpretations and oversights). About one third (45 of 144) involved procedure complications (angiography, 22; myelography, 11; intravenous contrast administration, 5; other, 7). About three fourths (93 of 127) of the verdicts favored the radiologist defendants. The authors' finding support the American College of Radiology Malpractice Awareness Task Force recommendations.

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A national survey on informed-consent lawsuits that resulted from studies using contrast material revealed that 123 (8%) of 1,513 radiologists surveyed or others in their groups had been involved in informed-consent lawsuits. In response to a detailed follow-up questionnaire, 67 radiologists anonymously provided additional information regarding their lawsuits, which most often involved excretory urography (37%) or angiography (38%), with death or neurologic impairment the most common patient injuries. As a result of these lawsuits, many radiologists provide more detailed information to patients. In the United States, the total number of informed-consent lawsuits, however, was small in relation to the total number of studies done using contrast material.

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