Medical Malpractice Payments Fall, While Health Care Cost Rise

A new report out by Public Citizen shows that medical malpractice payments were at or near record lows in 2008, but the decline almost certainly indicates that a lower percentage of injured patients received compensation, not that health safety has improved.

It finds that:

"The cost of the medical malpractice liability system — if measured broadly by adding all malpractice insurance premiums — fell to less than 0.6 percent of the $2.1 trillion in total national health care costs in 2006, the most recent year for which the necessary data to make such comparisons are available. The cost of actual malpractice payments fell to 0.18 percent - one-fifth of 1 percent - of all health care costs in 2006. Annual malpractice payments have subsequently fallen from $3.9 billion in 2006 to $3.6 billion in 2008, but comparative data on total health care costs are not available."

You can download the full study here: The 0.6 Percent Bogeyman — Medical Malpractice Payments Fall to All-Time Low as Health Care Costs Continue to Rise

See summary press release here: Med Mal Payments

NYT Opines on Med Mal and Health Care Reform

Here's an editorial from the New York Times, published June 17, 2009:

Malpractice and Health Care Reform

President Obama’s promise to help doctors limit their vulnerability to malpractice lawsuits is a reasonable offer, but only if malpractice reform is done carefully.
Click to read...

NEJM Looks at Medical Liability in Health Care Reform

The New England Journal of Medicine takes a look at medical liability reform at the federal level. The article, The Role of Medical Liability Reform in Federal Health Care Reform, provides a bit of background on the topic of tort reform and sees "at least three reasons why government champions of health care reform might consider bundling medical liability reform. These are: defensive medicine, physician support, and to attract Republican support. For more details, please read the article here: medical liability in health care reform.

New York Med Mal Payouts Stable

An article in the Insurance Journal reports Data Show New York Malpractice Payouts Steady.

"The federal data show 2,000 to 2,400 malpractice payments in New York each of the past 15 years. Total payments were $515 million in 1993. Horner said after adjusting for inflation, the cost has held relatively stable."

This in light of consumer advocates pushing to extend statute of limitations. See previous post.

New York Considers Change in Statute of Limitations for Medical Negligence Lawsuits

ALBANY, NY — A group of cancer patients and victims families in New York is pressing the legislature there to revise the malpractice laws to change the start date of the 2 1/2-year statute of limitations on medical negligence lawsuits from the date of discovery instead of from the time the medical mistake is made.

Read more on the Legislative Gazette: Patients should have more time to file malpractice suits, say advocates.

Rhode Island Jury Awards $4 Million for Medical Negligence

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Providence Journal reports that a Superior Court jury awarded a man $4 million for a doctor's negligence.

The jury awarded "$1.5 million for physical pain, $1.5 million for mental suffering, $500,000 for disfigurement and $500,000 for lost wages..." related to a case of misdiagnosed Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, a chronic neurological disorder that causes severe pain.

Read full article at: Rhode Island verdict.

In Wisconsin, $17.3 Million Settlement in Spleen Removal Case

Wisconsin's medical malpractice fund will pay a $17.3 million settlement to the family of a girl who was injured during a spleen removal surgery. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the surgeon, used a procedure using small holes in the abdomen as opposed to a large incision.

"To retrieve the fist-sized spleen through one of the holes, he encased the organ in a bag and used a blender-like device called a morcellator to chop it up inside the girl’s body.... The device punctured the bag, cut major blood vessels and severed part of her bowel, causing serious blood loss and permanent brain damage, according to allegations in the lawsuit that the state fund confirmed."

It’s one of the largest payments by the fund, supported by fees from health care providers. Read full article here.

Harvard Study Finds Reduced Malpractice Rate Tied To Use of Electronic Medical Records

A Harvard Study has determined that lower malpractice rates for healthcare providers are tied to the use of electronic medical records (EMRs). Leading medical record retrieval service provider, MedSave USA, concurs with this assessment and indicates that overall, a greater accuracy is reported with the use of EMRs.

The study, which was conducted by Harvard researchers, found that 6.1% of physicians with electronic records had malpractice settlements, compared to 10.8% without electronic records.

This is according to a press release issued by MedSave USA, a leading national provider of medical record retrieval services to the insurance industry, legal firms, and third party administrators (TPAs).

State Round-up Medical Malpractice Laws

Over at TortsProf Blog, published today, a quick summary of legislation and reform laws related to medical malpractice law.

• Hawaii's House Judiciary Committee approved a bill on Tuesday that could lead to caps on noneconomic damages in med mal claims against doctors in five specialties. See article: Honolulu Advertiser
• Utah Senate gives initial passage to a bill raising the burden of proof in emergency room med mal cases to "clear and convincing" evidence. See article: Salt Lake Tribune.
• Oklahoma House passes a tort reform bill that would, among other things, cap noneconomic damages at $300,000. See article: NewsOK.
• In Albany, New York, physician rally for decreased med mal insurance premiums and the ability to collectively bargain with insurers. See article: Times Union.

Jury Says Hospital At Fault for Nurse Trainee Misreading Fetal Heart Monitor -- Awards $4.4 Million in Birth Injury

This via Cerebral Palsy Law News...

South Carolina Jury Awards $4.4 Million in Birth Injury

A York County jury awarded $4.4 million to the parents of a child who suffered a brain injury at birth leading to cerebral palsy diagnosis. The award was against Piedmont Hospital.

"The jury said the hospital was at fault when it assigned a nurse trainee to monitor a woman, who arrived three days before her scheduled induction with nausea and vomiting. The nurse misread fetal heart monitoring data showing the baby was in dire distress and needed emergency intervention, according to the plaintiffs."

Massachusetts Medical Malpractice Perennial Powerhouse Lubin & Meyer

BOSTON — Medical malpractice lawyers at law firm Lubin & Meyer PC top the charts once again in the annual listing by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly of the largest verdicts and settlements of the year. Each January, the publication compiles the top verdicts of the year and top settlements of $1 million or more. And each year, one name turns up again and again. Lubin & Meyer, led by Andrew Meyer, far outpaced the pack with 2 of the top 5 verdicts in Massachusetts and 23 of the top settlements.

Attorney Robert Higgins tried the two medical malpractice verdicts: A much publicized $9.43 million verdict ($13.5 with interest) to the family of woman who died from an infection while undergoing cancer treatment at Dana Farber; and a $9.1 million verdict ($14.5 with interest) to the family of woman who died after thyroid surgery.

Of the 23 settlements, 22 were medical malpractice claims, many for baby's brain injuries leading to cerebral palsy, medical errors related to surgery and misdiagnoses of cancer. A summary list of these cases can be viewed on the firm's web site here: Largest settlements 2008.

Las Vegas, Nevada: Med Mal Jury Award Is $2.5M

Las Vegas ReviewJournal reports that a Clark County District Court jury awarded $2.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The suit contended that a physician and nurse were negligent and in not diagnosing a women's cancer. According to the report:

"Nevada caps malpractice lawsuit awards at $350,000 for pain and suffering. In this case, the jury awarded at least $2 million in "economic losses," or future lost wages."

See full article here. The verdict was reported to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in District Court since 2004, but a correction was printed later indicating a 2007 Clark County jury awarded $20.5 million to a woman whose husband died of lung cancer.

In N.H. Lawmakers Battle over Med Mal Screening Panels

An article in the Manchester Union Leader reports on the battle shaping up between lawmakers who want to repeal the medical malpractice screening panels law, and hospitals and doctors who feel the law is working. Click on the headline to read the full article, Lawmakers face battle over malpractice law.

Injury Law News - Publish Your Successes

Stay up to date with injury law news with our sister news sites:

• Cerebral Palsy Law News
• Vermont Personal Injury News
• Massachusetts Personal Injury News
• NH Medical Malpractice News

If you have specific verdict or settlement information that is on topic that you'd like covered in one of these online publications, please submit a trial report or published news link here.

Are you interested in having a site like this published for your firm? Please contact the editor for more details.

Trial Report for $13.5 Million Dana-Farber Medical Malpractice Verdict Now Online

Boston medical malpractice law firm Lubin & Meyer has just posted to its web site, the trial report for its recent $13.5 million jury verdict in a medical negligence lawsuit against doctors at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The news of the verdict was announced in a Boston Globe article, previously reported on by this news blog (here), but the trial report offers much more detail on the case involving a woman who developed an infection that went undiagnosed or treated while she was being treated with chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer.

For those interested in learning more about this significant 2008 Massachusetts medical malpractice verdict, click on: med mal verdict.

To read the Globe article click here.

Doctors' fear of lawsuits tied to added costs of $1.4b - The Boston Globe

Doctors' fear of lawsuits tied to added costs of $1.4b - The Boston Globe

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Pennsylvania jury awards $20.5 million in medical malpractice case

The Times Tribune reports that a Lackawanna County, PA, jury awarded $20.5 million in a medical malpractice suit related to a boy's medical problems caused by mistakes made at his birth. It is one of the largest awards in recent years. According to the news report,

"No medical malpractice jury verdict in the seven counties of Northeast Pennsylvania has exceeded $10 million from 2000 to 2007, according to statistics compiled by the state Supreme Court."

For more information, please click on the link: Pennsylvania jury award.

Dana-Farber Lawsuit Over Hospital Infection Death Brings $13.5 Million in Boston

BOSTON, MA - According to a Boston Globe report, a jury has awarded $13.5 million (including interest) to the family of woman who died from "a massive infection by a flesh-eating bacteria" while undergoing experimental cancer treatment from Dana-Farber Hospital. In the medical malpractice trial the jurors decided that the woman's "death could have been prevented if Dana-Farber doctors had investigated the cause of chronic diarrhea that surfaced during an unusual treatment protocol for a tumor behind her knee," said plaintiff's attorney Robert Higgins.

To read the full article, $13.5m awarded in hospital death, click on flesh eating bacteria.

UPDATED as of JAN. 15: You can now access lawyer's trial report with details of the medical malpractice trial on the lawyer's web site, click on: Dana Farber lawsuit.

Two other news articles on this story:
Family in chemo death awarded $13.5M - UPI
Family Gets $13 Million for Woman's Experimental Cancer Drug Death - Fox News

Effects of Arkansas Tort Reform Being Weighed by Insurance Commissioner

According to an article in the Arkansas Times, Fewer medical malpractice suits, tort reform legislation in Act 649 has reduced the number of medical malpractice suits filed in the state. But says the article, the effect of Act 649 on insurance premiums is less clear.

"The state insurance commissioner is required by law to file an annual report with the legislature on malpractice insurance rates. Those reports have generally said that it's still too early to evaluate the effect on rates of Act 649.... The report says there were nine medical malpractice rate filings in Arkansas in the most recent 12-month reporting period. Three of those were by new companies entering the state or for new products offered by companies already here, and thus couldn't be compared to previous rates, the report says. Of the other six filings, 'One filing provided for an overall decrease in rates of 39.5 percent. Five contained overall increased rates, none above 14.4 percent.'"

NJ Jury Awards $400,000 to Deaf Patient for Denial of Interpreter

From Law.com:

"A Hudson County jury's $400,000 verdict for a deaf patient whose doctor refused her an interpreter may be a wake-up call for all professionals -- including lawyers -- that they risk liability for disability discrimination.

Worse, malpractice liability insurance does not usually cover such liability, says plaintiff's attorney Clara Smit."

Read the entire article: Jury Awards $400,000 to Deaf Patient for Denial of Interpreter Services