Recent News
Malpractice Mega Verdicts Hit Record High
Malpractice awards are getting higher and higher for physicians and hospitals nationwide, Medscape reported Feb. 2. In the U.S., there were 57 medical malpractice verdicts of $10 million or more during 2023. More than half of those verdicts hit $25 million or...
AI in Health Care Spurs Questions Over Medical Errors: Analysis
Artificial intelligence has erupted in health care and could change the face of the industry irrevocably. As it continues to reach new heights, the risk of liability grows. At this time, it remains unclear exactly who is liable, and for what. Radiologists are using AI...
Senate Judiciary Panel OKs Reintroduction of Med Mal Caps in Wrongful Death Bill
Saying his proposal strikes a compromise, Sen. Clay Yarborough agreed to amend language onto his proposed legislation (SB 248) that would cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases. As amended, SB 248 caps non-economic damages for practitioners at $500,000...
Judge Rules to Cap Largest Medical Malpractice Verdict in Montana History
$6 million award reduced to $250,000 GREAT FALLS — Sixteen months after a jury awarded Joey Zahara $6 million in his medical malpractice suit against a Great Falls neurosurgeon, Cascade County Judge John Kutzman released a 25-page summation Monday citing his...
Don’t Create Loophole on Medical Liability Statute of Limitations
The Missouri Supreme Court is set to determine whether patients will, in effect, have an indefinite amount of time to file medical liability claims against their physicians. The state has a strict two-year statute of limitations on the time patients have to file a...
Peer-Review Privilege Should Protect Resident Physicians Too
In a court case that is deeply concerning to physicians and hospitals, an Ohio appellate court ruled that the state’s peer-review privilege law didn’t protect a resident physician’s file from discovery in a civil lawsuit. It appears to be the first time an Ohio court...
Insurers Pause to Take Pulse of Medical AI
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies may help reduce medical errors and improve patient outcomes, but their use in health care raises liability concerns and questions around medical malpractice risks. Insurers are not yet restricting...
Nikki Haley’s Good Healthcare Idea: Medical Malpractice Reform Can Help Reduce Costs
The Republican presidential candidates during last week’s debate offered few useful ideas to improve healthcare and lower costs. But credit to Nikki Haley for highlighting one: tort reform. Asked how to protect sick Americans from financial ruin, she mentioned the...
Court Holds Arizona’s COVID Immunity Statute Unconstitutional
Roebuck v. Mayo ClinicArizona Court of AppealsSeptember 19th, 2023 The Arizona Court of Appeals today held A.R.S. § 12-516, Arizona’s COVID immunity statute, unconstitutional. The COVID immunity statute directs that a health care professional or institution is not...
NM Rural Hospitals Struggling to Find Insurance Coverage
Aug. 26—Because New Mexico is considered a plaintiff-friendly state with high payouts from medical malpractice lawsuits, rural hospital officials say they are struggling to find insurance coverage. One of the many hospitals across the state that is dealing with this...