Friday, February 29, 2008

AMA Analysis: Screwing Injured People Means Lower Malpractice Rates

OK, maybe this American Medical Association article didn't have quite the same headline I used. But according to them, tort "reform" in the form of capped damages means there will be lower insurance rates.

In other words, if the burden of a terrible loss is heaped upon the victim and not the tortfeasor, then the person that caused the injury will be better off.

So why have a cap? I bet if we lowered the cap to zero, that premiums will go down even further. Really great, huh? Especially if you are the insurance company or the person that caused the injury.

Of course, there are also other ways to bring down premiums. Like getting rid of bad doctors and not engaging in a white coat of silence. In New York, 7% of doctors are responsible for 68% of the malpractice payouts.

Does this mean there should be no damage caps at all? Of course not. New York doesn't have a one-size-fits-all cap on damages, and we do just fine (see How New York Caps Personal Injury Damages). The question of artificial damage caps really boils down to this: Who should bear the burden of a loss, the one that caused it or the one that suffered it?

(hat tip to Kevin M.D. for the link, though I'm guessing he has a slightly different view)

Labels: Medical Malpractice

posted by Eric Turkewitz  # Permanent Link

Comments:

Eric - about the 7%, is this 7% of the monies paid, or 7% of all judgments, big and small?

# posted by  Doc99 : March 01, 2008 3:32 PM

 

Doc:

I think that this report is so chock full of info, that it will answer this question and many more. Small judgments (or settlements) are such a tiny fraction of funds paid as to be insignificant.

Your particular question, I think is addressed at page 12, though the numbers are slightly different than the ones I quoted because I think this is a different study with different years, but still similar: 5.9% of doctors were responsible for 57.8% of payouts.

Only 18% have paid at least one claim, and a very small number have paid multiple claims. 82% have never made a payment.

And here is an interesting stat: Only 1/3 of doctors that have made 10 or more payments have faced discipline by their state board.

http://www.citizen.org/documents/NPDB%20Report_Final.pdf

# posted by  Eric Turkewitz : March 01, 2008 4:15 PM

 

You still didn't answer my question - are we talking about numbers or dollars? It DOES make a difference.
Thanks in advance.

# posted by  Doc99 : March 02, 2008 8:36 AM

 

Doc:

The link I gave you says all malpractice payments. Here is a quote from the report:

Just 5.9 percent of doctors have been responsible for 57.8 percent of all malpractice
payments since 1991, according to data from September 1990 through 2005. Each of these
doctors made at least two payments.

# posted by  Eric Turkewitz : March 02, 2008 9:50 PM

 

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

<$BlogBacklinkTitle$>  
<$BlogBacklinkSnippet$>

posted by <$BlogBacklinkAuthor$> @ <$BlogBacklinkDateTime$>

Create a Link

<< Home

The New York Personal Injury Law Blog does not accept advertising banners, pop up ads or other distractions from its content. But since The Turkewitz Law Firm is the sole sponsor, it may be considered a form of attorney advertising in accordance with New York rules going into effect February 1, 2007 (22 NYCRR 1200.1, et. seq.)

Throughout the blog as it develops, you may see examples of cases we have handled, or cases from others, that are used for illustrative purposes. Since all cases are different, and legal authority may change from year to year, it is important to remember that prior results in any particular case do not guarantee or predict similar outcomes with respect to any future matter, including yours, in which any lawyer or law firm may be retained.

Some of the commentary may be become outdated. Some might be a minority opinion, or simply wrong. No reader should consider this site (or any other) to be authoritative, and if a legal issue is presented, the reader should contact an attorney of his or her own choosing for advice.

Finally, we are not responsible for the comments of others that may be added to this site.