Medical Liability Linkage
1) The gloves of the perfectly parted-haired senators are off. In light of the Senate shooting down med-mal caps—the GOP controls the action by the way— Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA, keeps up the pleas. “Do we serve the patients and the doctors who wish to help them or do we serve the trial lawyers? By preventing debate and an up-or-down vote on these bills Monday evening, the Senate Democrats made their choice abundantly clear.” Read [The Hill]
2) Mississippi Gov. Haley R. Barbour says doctors are coming back to the state because the state’s principal medical liability carrier cut rates 5 percent and gave a 10 percent rebate. Interesting. Read [The Neshoba Democrat]
3) About 40 percent of the medical malpractice cases filed in the United States are groundless, according to a new Harvard analysis. How do you come to such a conclusion, you might ask? Researchers reviewed 1,452 malpractice claims randomly selected from five insurance companies. The cases were resolved between 1984 and 2004. The claims resulted in a combined $449 million in verdicts and settlements. Many of the lawsuits contained no evidence that a medical error was committed or that the patient suffered any injury. The majority of those cases were dismissed without payout. Read [Mercury News]
4) When it rains…. An eye surgeon in Tucson, Arizona convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder now is facing several medical malpractice lawsuits. Read [KPHO]
5) Sound investment? There’s a coming IPO of Darwin Professional Underwriters—they specialize in liability insurance for docs and hospitals. Some 5,217,391 common shares for about $15 are up for grabs. Business must be good. Hedge your bets people. Read [Hartford Courant]
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