It is safe to say that over the last 20 years or so, the number of malpractice litigation cases has increased dramatically. This has had extremely negative effects on how doctors choose to treat their patients, how patients view their doctors, and how society at large views the medical profession. Litigation, it seems, has become the most common response to a negative outcome. This is particularly concerning since malpractice claims generally occur when negative outcomes are combined with “bad feelings.” Doctors are therefore pressured to make some sort of defensive decision to protect themselves from lawsuits. Furthermore, this use of defensive medicine can even alter a doctor's personal practice or the practice of his or her institution. Unfortunately, all doctors, regardless of the type of medicine they practice, are subject to being sued throughout their medical career. However, it appears that those in “higher responsibility” medical professions are the most likely recipients of legal action. In this article I will explore the use of defensive medicine according to the doctor's specialty and try to find its relationship with medical malpractice. Defining the term “defensive medicine” is crucial to understanding my project. In its most basic form, defensive medicine is "[t]he practice of medicine focused, as its primary goal, on self-protection from liability in the event of a tragic outcome, rather than prioritizing the patient's well-being..." (Hauser et al. 1991). Defensive medicine or defensive decision making generally requires doctors to perform unnecessary tests and treatments on their patients. Many may also avoid caring for “higher risk” patients, which include “patients with c...... half the documentation ...... limited geographic coverage, reliance on self-reports with sample sizes limited, extremely low patient response rates, limited information on the doctor's specialty, and lack of information on the size of payments” (Kane 2008). Although the National Practitioner Data Bank does a good job of recording most cases in which a plaintiff has been awarded monetary compensation on behalf of a doctor, it still does not report doctors' specialties and does not maintain any information on cases that do not give rise to payment. I have a personal interest in this topic. Currently, he aspires to attend law school and study medical law. I would like to specialize in malpractice defense, work in a hospital and protect its doctors from incoming lawsuits. As an English major, I can use my writing, research, and communication skills to help my clients.