Recent Connecticut News
August 2019 Newsletter
Liability reforms must be more than skin deep An analysis by University of Virginia (UVA) researchers on the prevalence of unnecessary medical tests highlighted the effect on health care costs and patient anxiety, leading a retired neurologist to reflect on how...
Woman Who Never Saw Doctor Claims Mistreatment; More
SOURCE: Medspace In a decision that critics charge could lead to an uptick in certain types of medical malpractice lawsuits, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled last month that doctors owe a duty of care to some third-party non-patients, according to a July 12 report...
August 2018 Newsletter
The reality of defensive medicine With projections about the cost implications of defensive medicine in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a new study showed greater insight into how physicians treated patients when they were not subject to the threat of lawsuits....
Current Medical Liability Laws
| Damage Caps | None |
| Joint Liability Reform | Yes. Defendants are responsible only for their proportionate share of negligence. However, if within one year after the final judgment the court determines that all or part of a defendant’s proportionate share is uncollectible, it shall reallocate the uncollectible non-economic damages among other defendants according to their percentages of negligence. The court may not reallocate to any such defendant an amount greater than that defendant’s percentage of negligence multiplied by such uncollectible amount. |
| Collateral Source Reform | Yes, benefits from collateral sources must be disclosed and used to reduce recoverable economic damages, minus any amount paid by the claimant to secure the benefit. |
| Attorney Fees Limited | Yes, limited to 33 1/3% of the first $300,000; 25% of the next $300,000, 20% of the next $300,000, 15% of the next $300,000, and 10% of amounts exceeding $1.2 million. |
| Periodic Payments Permitted | For damages exceeding $200,000, the court shall give the parties 60 days to negotiate an agreement on method of payment, either in lump sum, periodic payments, or a combination thereof. If they cannot agree, the judge must order payment in a lump sum. |