Recent News
July 2011 Poll Results – Civitas Institute
This poll of 600 registered general election voters in North Carolina was conducted July 12-13, 2011 by National Research, Inc. of Holmdel, NJ. All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina. For purposes of this...
Judiciary panel preps jobs agenda
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) is preparing a fall work program for his committee that is aimed almost exclusively at boosting and protecting U.S. jobs. The agenda includes bills that would reduce regulatory burdens to job growth, require...
Thanks for the doctors, New York
Dr. Jackelinne Pilar Villalobos was one of Brooklyn’s few female English and Spanish-speaking obstetricians. She loved the city and her patients, and never wanted to leave -- but 18 months ago, she moved to Houston, where we’re delighted to have her. Villalobos’...
Insurer: Texas malpractice rates decreasing since liability reforms
Due to medical liability reforms in the state, Texas physicians will pay less for liability coverage next year, according to the state's largest provider of malpractice insurance. In a statement released today, the board of governors of the Texas Medical Liability...
GOP bill would create health care tribunals
Washington - New House legislation aims to curb the overuse of health care by establishing clinical best practices for physicians and creating health care tribunals to hear medical liability cases. "The practice of defensive medicine adds billions of dollars of...
NC House overrides 3 Perdue vetoes to make laws
RALEIGH N.C. -- Victims of North Carolina doctors guilty of medical malpractice will be limited to $500,000 what they can collect for pain, suffering and lost body parts under legislation the state House passed into law over a veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue. The state...
W.Va. Supreme Court OKs State’s Cap for Non-Economic Damages in Case
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals stuck by the state’s cap for medical liability non-economic damages in its June 22 decision on a case filed against City Hospital. James D. MacDonald and his wife Debbie filed the suit in February after James had undergone...
Ohio court ruling may expose doctors to unending lawsuits
The Ohio State Medical Assn. and others are asking the Supreme Court of Ohio to review a lower court's ruling they say exposes physicians to an endless risk of negligence claims. An appellate court decision in Ruther v. Kaiser found that the state's statute of repose...
TN gov signs bill placing caps on lawsuit payouts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A measure to cap payouts for medical malpractice and other civil cases is good for business in Tennessee, said Gov. Bill Haslam, who signed the bill Thursday. The law places a $750,000 cap on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, and the...
Surgical liability cases drop nearly 80% at Texas medical center
Texas trauma surgeon Basil Pruitt Jr., MD, was confident the state's tort reform measures had reduced lawsuits at the medical center where he practices. But he and fellow physicians were shocked when they learned by how much. A study published in the April issue of...