Subject: Re: Medical Liability Crisis

CAL/AAEM News Service pottsbri@yahoo.com
Tue, 4 Feb 2003 22:25:50 -0800 (PST)


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Interesting information that we should all read - from EMED-L

I asked for and received Mr. Mark Reiter's (MS IV) authorization to forward this to all of the CAL/AAEM News Service subscribers.



Dr. K



-----Original Message-----

From: Mark Reiter 

Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2003 10:01 PM

Subject: Re: Medical Liability Crisis





Here are ten selected facts (with reference) about the medical liability crisis that I came across....courtesy of the American Tort Reform Association and the AMA.



* 57% of medical malpractice premiums goes toward attorneys' fees, according to the Health Care Liability Alliance. The Charlotte Observer, January 21, 2002. 

* Data compiled by the Physician Insurers Association of America show that nearly 70 percent of all medical malpractice claims result in no payment to plaintiffs. The median cost of defending such a case - one where the jury rules the defendant not guilty - was $66,767 in 2002. The Charlotte Observer, January 21, 2002. 

* To fend off litigation and cope with steep liability premiums, doctors ultimately are being forced to practice defensive medicine. A nationwide study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found defensive medicine costs an additional $50 billion per year. York Daily Record, January 20, 2002. 

* New York has the highest [medical liability] payouts at $632,996,221. Pennsylvania is the second-worst state in the country for total payouts for medical malpractice. During the fiscal year 2000, combined judgments and settlements in Pennsylvania amounted to $352 million--or 

* Nationwide, one out of every 12 doctors gets sued each year, while in Florida it's one out of every six, said Bob White, chief operating officer of Jacksonville-based First Professionals Insurance Co., the state's largest provider of medical malpractice insurance with about 33 percent of the market. "Litigation was and always will be the problem in Florida until there are caps on economic damages," said White, whose company raised rates an average of 10.6 percent in 2001 and 27.7 percent this year. Orlando Sentinel, January 20, 2002.

* The problem is particularly acute in Texas, where 51.7 percent of all physicians in 2000 had claims filed against them, according to the Texas Medical Examiners Board. Although no concrete numbers are available as a comparison, several industry experts say the frequency is twice the national average. The Dallas Morning News, January 20, 2002. 

* According to recent reports, from 1999-2000, the number ofmalpractice lawsuits faced by Mississippi physicians increased 24 percent, with an additional 23 percent increase in the first five months of 2001. Delta Democrat Times, June 24, 2001

* Indeed, claims against physicians have increased in the last decade, though they fluctuate widely from year to year. Patients filed 4,501 claims in 2000, up 51 percent from 1990, according to the Texas Medical Examiners Board. More troublesome is the rise in expenses involved in resolving a case. Each claim cost an average of $68,681 to litigate in 2000, compared with $46,079 in 1995. The figure does not include the amount of settlement or award. The Dallas Morning News, January 20, 2002. 

* Driving premiums through the roof are excessive sums awarded in malpractice suits. According to data from the National Practitioner Databank, medical malpractice payments for physicians in 2000 totaled $3,908,113,303. York Daily Record, January 20, 2002. 

* Nationally, median malpractice jury awards rose from $500,000 in 1995 to $800,000 in 1999, the latest figures available, reports Jury Verdict Research of Horsham, Pa. Malpractice awards rank second to product liability payouts, with median awards of $1.8 million. The TampaTribune, December 19, 2001. 

< I don't understand why we use the median rather than the mean, since premiums are set against the mean >





Take care,

Mark Reiter

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson, MS4

=====================================


Brian Potts 
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service 
MS-IV, UC Irvine 
MD/MBA candidate 
pottsbri@yahoo.com


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<FONT size=2>
<P>Interesting information that we should all read - from EMED-L</P>
<P>I asked for and received Mr. Mark Reiter's (MS IV) authorization to forward this to all of the CAL/AAEM News Service subscribers.</P>
<P></P>
<P>Dr. K</P>
<P></P>
<P>-----Original Message-----</P>
<P>From: Mark Reiter </P>
<P>Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2003 10:01 PM</P>
<P>Subject: Re: Medical Liability Crisis</P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P>Here are ten selected facts (with reference) about the medical liability crisis that I came across....courtesy of the American Tort Reform Association and the AMA.</P>
<P></P>
<P>* 57% of medical malpractice premiums goes toward attorneys' fees, according to the Health Care Liability Alliance. The Charlotte Observer, January 21, 2002. </P>
<P>* Data compiled by the Physician Insurers Association of America show that nearly 70 percent of all medical malpractice claims result in no payment to plaintiffs. The median cost of defending such a case - one where the jury rules the defendant not guilty - was $66,767 in 2002. The Charlotte Observer, January 21, 2002. </P>
<P>* To fend off litigation and cope with steep liability premiums, doctors ultimately are being forced to practice defensive medicine. A nationwide study in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found defensive medicine costs an additional $50 billion per year. York Daily Record, January 20, 2002. </P>
<P>* New York has the highest [medical liability] payouts at $632,996,221. Pennsylvania is the second-worst state in the country for total payouts for medical malpractice. During the fiscal year 2000, combined judgments and settlements in Pennsylvania amounted to $352 million--or </P>
<P>* Nationwide, one out of every 12 doctors gets sued each year, while in Florida it's one out of every six, said Bob White, chief operating officer of Jacksonville-based First Professionals Insurance Co., the state's largest provider of medical malpractice insurance with about 33 percent of the market. "Litigation was and always will be the problem in Florida until there are caps on economic damages," said White, whose company raised rates an average of 10.6 percent in 2001 and 27.7 percent this year. Orlando Sentinel, January 20, 2002.</P>
<P>* The problem is particularly acute in Texas, where 51.7 percent of all physicians in 2000 had claims filed against them, according to the Texas Medical Examiners Board. Although no concrete numbers are available as a comparison, several industry experts say the frequency is twice the national average. The Dallas Morning News, January 20, 2002. </P>
<P>* According to recent reports, from 1999-2000, the number ofmalpractice lawsuits faced by Mississippi physicians increased 24 percent, with an additional 23 percent increase in the first five months of 2001. Delta Democrat Times, June 24, 2001</P>
<P>* Indeed, claims against physicians have increased in the last decade, though they fluctuate widely from year to year. Patients filed 4,501 claims in 2000, up 51 percent from 1990, according to the Texas Medical Examiners Board. More troublesome is the rise in expenses involved in resolving a case. Each claim cost an average of $68,681 to litigate in 2000, compared with $46,079 in 1995. The figure does not include the amount of settlement or award. The Dallas Morning News, January 20, 2002. </P>
<P>* Driving premiums through the roof are excessive sums awarded in malpractice suits. According to data from the National Practitioner Databank, medical malpractice payments for physicians in 2000 totaled $3,908,113,303. York Daily Record, January 20, 2002. </P>
<P>* Nationally, median malpractice jury awards rose from $500,000 in 1995 to $800,000 in 1999, the latest figures available, reports Jury Verdict Research of Horsham, Pa. Malpractice awards rank second to product liability payouts, with median awards of $1.8 million. The TampaTribune, December 19, 2001. </P>
<P>&lt; I don't understand why we use the median rather than the mean, since premiums are set against the mean &gt;</P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P>Take care,</P>
<P>Mark Reiter</P>
<P>UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson, MS4</P>
<P>=====================================</P></FONT><BR><BR><STRONG>Brian Potts <BR>Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service</STRONG> <BR>MS-IV, UC Irvine <BR>MD/MBA candidate <BR>pottsbri@yahoo.com<p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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