Recent News
Coalition Floats Compromise, AAJ Gears Up To Fight Caps
Medical malpractice reform is returning to the spotlight as lawmakers embark on deficit-reduction discussions, with a broad-based health care coalition suggesting possible middle ground while trial lawyers gear up to fight against tort reforms that would cap damages...
Malpractice Screening Panels Upheld in New Hampshire
In 2007, New Hampshire established an expert-panel system for use in medical malpractice lawsuits to cut back on frivolous suits and speed up resolution of cases. This system was recently challenged as unconstitutional, but the New Hampshire Supreme Court has just...
Republicans press HHS on malpractice reform
Three Republican Senators concerned about how grants for medical liability reform demonstration projects were spent continue to press the Department of Health and Human Services for answers – only to receive less than adequate responses. Senators Charles Grassley and...
Liability premium relief good for doctors, unsettling for insurers
Small but persistent declines in medical liability insurance premiums have many insurers concerned about the future of their industry. Yet doctors are benefiting from lower rates and rising competition among insurers vying for their business. Nearly 60% of premiums...
Kansas Supreme Court upholds medical malpractice cap
The war on medical malpractice caps rages on. Although several state Supreme Courts have recently struck down malpractice laws aiming to limit awards for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, the Kansas Supreme Court has just ruled that the law is...
Third parties can’t sue doctors when injured by patients, says state high court
Physician advocates are praising a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling they say protects doctors from being sued unfairly by third parties who are injured by patients. In a Sept. 17 decision, judges said physicians owe no duty to nonpatients who are harmed because of a...
Ga. group offers way to curb health care costs
A Gallup survey this summer found that 26 percent of all health care spending in Georgia is on unnecessary tests. The state’s doctors ring up $15 billion annually in avoidable costs, mostly in efforts to create evidence in case they are sued. Just in the...
Legislators Wrestle With Revamping Oregon’s Health Care System
As Oregon attempts to revamp its health care system, the state legislature will have to make all kinds of changes.One goal, which has plagued lawmakers for years, is to reduce the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits.Governor John Kitzhaber set up a workgroup this...
GUEST: Medical liability an issue
In 2003, doctors in both Texas and New York faced a crisis. Excessive, costly and often baseless litigation was forcing physicians to limit their practices or shut their doors altogether. Hospitals were spending increasing amounts for lawsuits rather than investing in...
Appeals court upholds often-cited medical liability damages cap
In a victory for doctors, a Texas appeals court has upheld as constitutional the state’s $250,000 noneconomic damages cap in medical liability cases.The decision is the first time an appellate court has validated the limit under the state’s constitution. A...