Recent News
New Bill Would Provide Greater Length of Time to Sue Doctors
A bill in the Maine legislature would have the medical malpractice statute of limitations clock start running when a patient discovers the negligence, which could be years after treatment took place. And other states could follow suit with similar bills. What danger...
AMA: One in three physicians previously sued in their career
CHICAGO – A new analysis (PDF) from the American Medical Association (AMA) finds the possibility of being sued during a career in medicine is very real for most doctors, which is notable given that most claims end with no finding of negligence or error. According to...
Pennsylvania must act to avert another medical liability crisis | Opinion
Pennsylvania’s physicians are experiencing a sense of déjà vu as the state appears to be heading toward another medical liability insurance crisis. The state was gripped by such a crisis approximately twenty years ago as trial lawyers pursued malpractice lawsuits by...
Malpractice Risks for Docs Who Oversee NPs or PAs
Court cases show that physicians continually underestimate their liability in supervising nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). Even in states that have abolished requirements that NPs be physician-supervised, physicians may still be liable...
Doña Ana County doctor says recent medical malpractice bill is a step in the right direction, but work remains
LAS CRUCES – An emergency bill introduced in the last week of the 2023 legislative session may have curtailed the loss of doctors in New Mexico due to increasing claims caps in medical malpractice cases. Senate Bill 523 changed wording of the Medical Malpractice Act...
Supreme Court abortion ruling complicates medical malpractice insurance environment
SOURCE: Business Insurance Medical professionals and their insurers face an evolving medical liability landscape following the U.S. Supreme Court abortion decision last year, but captives may be able to help organizations handle the risks, an attorney, a risk manager...
Philly’s medical malpractice cases are surging since a new state rule went into effect
SOURCE: The Philadelphia Inquirer For the first time in 20 years, Pennsylvania's medical malpractice lawsuits this year can be filed in counties other than the one where an injury happened. Late last year, the family of a 9-year-old boy who fractured his jaw at a...
Juries must be instructed that bad outcomes aren’t always negligence
SOURCE: American Medical Association Physicians do not—and cannot—guarantee a good result for every patient, something that juries need to be reminded of before deliberating. That is especially true in tough cases that may pull at the heartstrings, physicians tell the...
Doctors warn malpractice changes could drive providers out of New Mexico
SOURCE: KOB 4 Barely a year after lawmakers slapped an emergency bandage on New Mexico’s revamped Medical Malpractice Act, doctors are again warning about a dire – if unintended – consequence. At the start of 2024, the cap for awards in malpractice lawsuits against...
Iowa governor signs limits on damages for pain, suffering in medical malpractice lawsuits
SOURCE: Des Moines Register Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a law limiting the amount of money Iowans can receive in medical malpractice lawsuits, touting the legislation as a win for health care access in rural Iowa. "Everyone agrees that when mistakes happen Iowans...