{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,9]],"date-time":"2026-08-09T08:41:28Z","timestamp":1786264888542,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Physicians caring for collegiate athletes practice in a high-stakes environment where return-to-play decisions and delayed diagnoses may increase exposure to malpractice claims. Despite growing medicolegal concern, litigation involving physicians caring for collegiate athletes has not been comprehensively characterized.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose\/Hypothesis:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The purpose was to characterize negligence claims against physicians caring for collegiate athletes and assess temporal trends, allegations, and outcomes. The hypothesis was that there would be an increase in cases against physicians caring for collegiate athletes in recent years.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Study Design:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cross-sectional study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A search of publicly available legal databases, court records, and news archives was conducted in December 2025 to identify litigation claims involving physicians caring for collegiate athletes in the United States. Cases were included if a physician was named as a defendant. No restrictions on case year were applied. Case characteristics, allegations, outcomes, and monetary awards were abstracted. Awards were inflation adjusted to 2026 US dollars. Data were presented descriptively.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Thirty cases met inclusion criteria. The number of identified litigation cases increased over time, with a greater concentration of cases in more recent decades. Most defendants were male (93%) and team physicians (61%), with orthopaedic surgery being the most common specialty (41%). The most frequent allegations, expressed as a proportion of all recorded allegations, were improper\/inadequate treatment (27%), negligent medical clearance (19%), and failure to diagnose (18%). Outcomes favored the defense in 60% of cases, while 23% resulted in plaintiff verdicts or settlements. The mean inflation-adjusted award in plaintiff-favorable cases was $2.02 million.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The current study demonstrated that based on publicly available data, a limited number of litigation cases involving physicians caring for collegiate athletes were identified, with more cases observed in recent decades. Although most cases favor the defense, plaintiff-favorable outcomes involve substantial financial exposure. These findings are based on publicly available cases and may overrepresent litigated outcomes, but they highlight the importance of accurate diagnosis, prudent return-to-play decision making, a multidisciplinary approach to care, and proactive risk mitigation in the management of collegiate athletes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/23259671261468579","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T11:13:17Z","timestamp":1786101197000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Litigation Against Physicians Caring for Collegiate Athletes in the United States"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9912-3028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aidan C.","family":"O\u2019Brien","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3414-9512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zachary","family":"Kyros","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sawyer H.","family":"Farmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Boufadel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xinning","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5435\/JAAOS-D-23-00174"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/19417381231182416"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","first-page":"123","article-title":"NIL necessitates shared medical decision making for college athletes","volume":"35","author":"Boozang KM.","year":"2024","unstructured":"Boozang KM. NIL necessitates shared medical decision making for college athletes. Marq Sports L Rev. 2024;35:123.","journal-title":"Marq Sports L Rev"},{"issue":"24","key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","first-page":"2726","article-title":"Medical malpractice litigation in orthopaedic surgery in the United States: risk factors, outcomes, and strategies for navigating lawsuits, prevention, and reform","volume":"107","author":"Boufadel P","year":"2025","unstructured":"Boufadel P, Ghanem D, Daher M, et al. Medical malpractice litigation in orthopaedic surgery in the United States: risk factors, outcomes, and strategies for navigating lawsuits, prevention, and reform. 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Fordham L Rev. 2024;93:1659.","journal-title":"Fordham L Rev"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3928\/01477447-20211101-06"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1212\/WNL.0b013e31828d57dd"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1249\/MSS.0000000000003371"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00913847.2020.1811065"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_13_2","unstructured":"Hodge S Anderson J. NIL rules increase malpractice risk for sports doctors. https:\/\/www.crcgroup.com\/Tools-and-Intel\/post\/nil-rules-increase-malpractice-risk-for-sports-doctors."},{"key":"e_1_3_2_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4085\/1062-6050-0536.19"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11999-008-0589-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.asmr.2024.101013"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/23259671231182991"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","unstructured":"National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA student-athletes surpass 520 000 set new record. https:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/news\/2022\/12\/5\/media-center-ncaa-student-athletes-surpass-520-000-set-new-record.aspx"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/19417381251394660"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","unstructured":"Olson E. Team physicians in college sports wary of greater liability risk with athletes now making big money. https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/college-sports-medical-liability-06efc885672186ca20320911f9983e27"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/03635465241306742"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2023-106898"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0363546506288677"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_24_2","unstructured":"Vellios EE Dekker T Protzuk OA. The hidden costs of NIL: how injuries and insurance impact athlete earnings. American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. https:\/\/www.sportsmed.org\/membership\/sports-medicine-update\/summer-2025\/the-hidden-costs-of-nil-how-injuries-and-insurance-impact-athlete-earnings"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_25_2","unstructured":"Weil R Brady E. 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