Recent GeorgiaNews
ACA Could Pose Unintentional Legal Dangers for Physicians
Federal quality metrics – integrated into the Affordable Care Act to improve and standardize care – are posing unintended legal risks for physicians, medical malpractice experts noted. "The Affordable Care Act itself doesn’t identify medical malpractice issues,"...
Health reform medical liability shield a model of good sense
Georgia now protects its physicians from a possible liability loophole in the ACA. The rest of the nation must do the same. The Affordable Care Act will bring new insurance coverage to tens of millions of people, put a needed focus on preventive care, and start...
Doctors win first safe harbor against ACA use in liability suits
Physician leaders hope a first-of-its-kind bill approved in Georgia protecting doctors from civil liability for breaching federal health system reform requirements will be replicated in other states. Medical associations long have been concerned that federal...
Current Medical Liability Laws
| Damage Caps | $250,000 cap on punitive damages. (1992) $350,000 cap on non-economic damages for a judgment against all health care provider(s); additional $350,000 cap on non- economic damages for a judgment against a single health care facility; $350,000 cap on non-economic damages for a judgment against multiple health care facilities. Maximum total award of non- economic damages is $1.05 million. (2005) (Ruled unconstitutional Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery PC v. Nestlehutt, March 2010) |
| Joint Liability Reform | Yes. Defendants are responsible only for their proportionate share of negligence. If the plaintiff is to some degree responsible for the injury or damages claimed, the judge must first decrease the damages based on the plaintiff’s degree of fault. |
| Collateral Source Reform | No |
| Attorney Fees Limited | No |
| Periodic Payments Permitted | Upon the request of either party, the court must establish a schedule of payments for future damages exceeding $350,000. |