Thursday, February 3, 2005
PA State Medical Society Frivolous Lawsuit Project
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In 2004, the Pennsylvania State Medical Society began a project to support physicians who chose to countersue lawyers who brought frivolous malpractice lawsuits under the Frivolous Lawsuit Project. A recent newsletter gave the following update:
" In May of 2004, the Society settled its first frivolous case, resulting in an apology from the offending attorney and an agreement to make an undisclosed monetary payment.
The countersuit was brought by Charles Dunton, MD—a gynecological oncologist from Delaware County—against Diane Rice, Esq., of Bucks County.
Ms. Rice had filed a medical malpractice action on behalf of her client in which she accused Dr. Dunton of providing inadequate care. That action was eventually resolved in Dr. Dunton’s favor when Ms. Rice was unable to produce an expert to support her allegations.
In her apology, Ms. Rice admitted she did not obtain an opinion from a qualified medical expert prior to filing the suit... "
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Tort System Costs
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I'm posting these data mainly so I'll be able to find them again at a later date, but others might find the numbers useful as well.
" The tort system now costs every man, woman, and child in America an average of $845 a year, almost 10 times the inflation-adjusted $91 per capita it cost in 1950. The $246 billion-a-year total comes to 2.2 percent of America's gross domestic product -- more than triple the 0.6 percent in the United Kingdom and more than double the 0.8 percent in Japan, France, and Canada. And as of 2002, only 22 percent of all tort costs went to compensate alleged victims' out-of-pocket losses; 24 percent went to pay for non-economic losses such as pain and suffering; 19 percent went to plaintiffs' lawyers; 14 percent went to defense costs; and 21 percent went to insurance overhead. "
I found this section in Better Justice: Bush's Missed Opportunity, which is quoting U.S. Tort Costs:2004 Update Trends and Findings on the Cost of the U.S. Tort System.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Are Lawsuits Affecting Mammography Access in Florida?
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Common Good points to the following article: Report: Lawsuits Limit Cancer Tests
" "In Florida, a governor-appointed task force reports that lawsuits are "discouraging radiologists from offering mammograms." Radiologists have good reason to be afraid. As many as 17 percent of tumors are "missed during at least one exam." And in 2002, a study of 25 insurance companies conducted by the Physicians Insurers Association of America found that "radiologists accounted for 33 percent of all claims and the most common allegation against radiologists was 'mammogram misread.'" Six seats are available in breast-imaging fellowship programs across the state of Florida, but none are filled. In fact, "a recent survey of 211 radiology residents showed that 63 percent of students wouldn't accept a fellowship in breast imaging." "Why would they jeopardize their lives and their careers if it's not absolutely necessary?" said Dr. Ada Patricia Romilly, a member of the Florida task force." "
I found the home page for the Workgroup on Mammogram Accessibility [thanks to Google] but see no final results. Those that are there indicate available data is inconclusive or invalid. So where does that leave us, exactly?
Friday, December 24, 2004
Online Posting of Med-Mal Payouts Is Seen as Chilling Settlements
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Online Posting of Med-Mal Payouts Is Seen as Chilling Settlements:
" "Nearly five months after a [New Jersey] state government Web site began posting doctors' malpractice histories, the publicity may be having a chilling effect on settlements.
Lawyers on both sides of the aisle say that some doctors, faced with the reality that even a confidential settlement will end up on the Internet, are opting to take their chances in court.
They are exercising the right available under most medical malpractice policies to withhold their consent to settle, even when it goes against the wishes of their carriers and advice of counsel.
'Doctors do not want to settle at all now that it has to be reported to the databank for any payment whatsoever,' says defense lawyer Richard Amdur." "
[Via Point of Law]
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Pennsylvania and Medical Courts
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From Law.com: States Weigh Med-Mal Courts.
" "In Pennsylvania, a House bill was introduced in 2003 that would have created a Medical Professional Liability Court. The bill never made it out of committee.
"It was the source of a lot of discussions for the greater part of four or five months," said Mark Phenicie, the legislative counsel for the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. "But it hasn't happened ... .We have the additional impediment here that all of the judges are elected. If I'm a judge, I probably wouldn't want to have to run in a partisan statewide campaign just to be in a malpractice court." " "
Like other malpractice reform proposals, it never made it 'out of committee' because legislators from the Philadelphia area (who represent the trial lawyer lobby) prevented it from going to the floor for a vote.
[Via PointOfLaw Forum]
Thursday, December 9, 2004
Unreliable System Fails Doctors and Patients
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" "The Washington Post takes a detailed look at a single medical malpractice case--one that began when Dr. Kevin Kearney of Maryland's Eastern Shore urged an 18-year-old mother to have her baby without a Caesarean section. What followed was a complicated delivery resulting in permanent injuries to the child, and a multi-year legal battle, filled with dramatic moments that illustrate how an unreliable system can fail both doctors and patients." "
[Via MedWatch]
Friday, November 19, 2004
"Dispelling malpractice myths"
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"Dispelling malpractice myths" by the president of Johns Hopkins University:
""News reports of recent efforts to reduce malpractice insurance costs have missed what is needed: genuine reform of the medical justice system.
A good way to start is by jettisoning some commonly held misperceptions about the current malpractice system. Call them the "Myths of Malpractice..."""
[Via PointOfLaw Forum]
Saturday, November 6, 2004
Summary of Medical Liability Ballot Initiatives
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Human Events Online: Medical Liability
""Voters in four states--Oregon, Florida, Nevada, and Wyoming--considered ballot initiatives to reform the broken medical liability systems in their states. In Oregon, Ballot Measure 35, which would have amended the constitution to establish a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical liability cases, lost by 50.53% to 49.47%. In Florida, Ballot Measure 3 to amend the state constitution and limit contingency fees attorneys receive in medical liability cases passed 63.5% to 36.5%. In Nevada, Ballot Measure 3, which would amend Nevada's existing medical liability reform law by deleting exceptions to the $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases, passed by 58.72% to 40.14%. In Wyoming, Amendment D, which would amend to the Constitution to allow the state legislature to enact caps on noneconomic damages, failed by a 2-to-1 margin.""
Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Ballot measure results
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Ballot measure results:
""...voters gave doctors and the business community some major victories in yesterday's ballot measures. Limits on malpractice lawyers' fees passed resoundingly in Florida, in a stinging rebuke to the trial bar. Among three other states considering med-mal ballot measures, doctors won decisively in Nevada and lost in Wyoming, while Oregon's measure was slightly trailing but too close to call..""
[Via Overlawyered]
Thursday, October 28, 2004
Wyoming med-mal study
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Wyoming med-mal study:
""The Milliman actuarial firm projects what will happen if Wyoming enacts a cap on non-economic damages. According to Martin Grace's summary [pdf], the study's simulation model "suggests that the cap [at a level of $250,000] will reduce losses and loss adjustmen expenses by about 15%""
[Via PointOfLaw Forum]
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Dec Mar
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