Medical-malpractice tort reform trouble spots. (Property/Casualty).After California passed the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act The Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) of 1975 was a California law designed lower medical malpractice premiums for Californians. Parts Micra Consists of the following parts: n. 1. A locking pin inserted in the end of a shaft, as in an axle, to prevent a wheel from slipping off. 2. of its effectiveness. The American Medical Association American Medical Association (AMA), professional physicians' organization (founded 1847). Its goals are to protect the interests of American physicians, advance public health, and support the growth of medical science. said such a cap is necessary because median professional-liability jury awards increased 43% between 1999 and 2000, causing medical-liability insurers to raise rates and physicians to close practices. The following overview of five tort-reform trouble spots for medical-liability insurance shows how past, present and pending legislation compares to MICRA's standard. Legislation is reported as of late October 2002. The MICRA Standard Highlights of the California Tort Reform Noneconomic damages: A claim against a health-care provider for medical negligence is capped at $250,000 per incident. Statute of Limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. : A claim for alleged medical negligence must be brought within one year of discovery of its injury and negligent cause, or within three years from injury. Periodic Payments: Defendants may choose to pay a claimant's future economic damages, such as lost earnings or rehabilitation rehabilitation: see physical therapy. costs, if more than $50,000, in periodic amounts. Limits on Attorney Contingency Fees contingency fee Law & medicine An attorney fee based on a percentage of the money recovered in a lawsuit : In an action against a healthcare provider for professional negligence professional negligence n. See malpractice. , an attorney's contingency fee is limited to 40% of the first $50,000 recovered; 33% of the next $50,000; 25% of the next $500,000, and 15% of any amount exceeding $600,000. Nevada Problem High medical-liability premiums for physicians. The American Medical Association reports neurosurgeons in the Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. area pay as much as $139,000 a year for coverage. In July, a trauma center trauma center n. A medical facility that is designated to treat severe physical trauma as a result of the specialized training of its staff and the availability of appropriate diagnostic and treatment tools. in Las Vegas closed temporarily because physicians resigned from the facility due to problems with medical-liability lawsuits. Legislation Passed or Pending AB1 signed by governor in August 2002. Shortens the statute of limitations for filing a medical-liability case; allows a judge to decide if periodic payments are allowed and adopts a several-liability standard for cases when noneconomic damages are considered. Variations From MICRA Caps noneconomic damages at $350,000 and allows the cap to be waived if the patient can prove there was gross negligence An indifference to, and a blatant violation of, a legal duty with respect to the rights of others. Gross negligence is a conscious and voluntary disregard of the need to use reasonable care, which is likely to cause foreseeable grave injury or harm to persons, property, or . Pennsylvania Problem Physicians closing practices statewide due to escalating medical-liability insurance fees. Phico, one of the state's largest writers of medical-liability coverage, is in liquidation The collection of assets belonging to a debtor to be applied to the discharge of his or her outstanding debts. A type of proceeding pursuant to federal Bankruptcy , and Miix Group and Princeton Insurance have ceased writing new business in the state. Legislation Passed or Pending Medical-Liability Reform Bill signed into law in March 2002 by governor. Allows periodic payouts of judgment; requires claims to be filed within seven years of injury; punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. capped at two times actual damages Noun 1. actual damages - (law) compensation for losses that can readily be proven to have occurred and for which the injured party has the right to be compensated compensatory damages, general damages , and medical-liability lawsuits may only be tried in county where the alleged malpractice took place. Variations From MICRA No pain and suffering cap in place; joint and several liability intact. Joint and several liability is a rule holding each defendant responsible for the entire amount of the plaintiff's damages. New Jersey Problem Medical-liability premiums rising 20% to 25% annually. Medical-liability insurers lowering limits and some only offering claims-made policies claims-made policy Malpractice A type of medical malpractice or professional liability insurance policy for a physician or other health care professional in which coverage is provided for any claim that occurs only while the policy is in force . Medical Society of New Jersey predicts 3,000 physicians in state will lose coverage due to insurers cherry-picking profitable business. Legislation Passed or Pending In addition to 20 medical-liability reform bills introduced earlier in 2002, S1850 and S1902 also were presented in October. Variations From MICRA S1850 and S1902 state that pain and suffering would be capped at $250,000, but depending on extent of injury, can go up to $500,000. West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. Problem Physicians are ceasing to practice in the state due to rising medical-liability premiums, and trauma centers are closing. Legislation Passed or Pending In December 2001, a bill guaranteeing all health-care providers in the state access to medical-liability insurance was signed by the governor. Variations From MICRA Additional legislation allows $1 million cap on noneconomic damages; doesn't permit periodic payouts of settlement payment. Mississippi Problem State suffering from a chronic shortage of doctors and gaining a reputation for big payouts in jury awards. Legislation Passed or Pending HB 2 passed by state legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: Variations From MICRA Caps noneconomic damages at $500,000 through 2011; establishes a 30% at-fault requirement for joint and several liability for economic damages. This means a defendant who is one of multiple defendants must be found to be more than 30% at fault to be held responsible for up to 50% of the jury award. RELATED ARTICLE: Medical-Malpractice Reform: On the Way to Recovery Jury awards in the hundreds of millions of dollars, trauma centers shutting their doors and physicians closing practices have insurers calling for a diagnosis of tort reform to cure the ills in medical-liability coverage. Although physicians in high-risk practices, such as orthopedics and obstetrics obstetrics (ŏbstĕ`trĭks), branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of women during pregnancy, labor, childbirth (see birth), and the time after childbirth. , face a one-in-five chance of dealing with a medical-liability claim, the really bad news is the explosion in the cost of claims, said Dr. Richard Anderson, chairman of medical-liability insurer The Doctors Co. "We have accepted indefensible and inexcusable levels of frequency as normal. We've entered an environment of seeing $100 million verdicts for an individual patient," Dr. Anderson said. Because medical-liability lawsuits have such a dramatic ripple effect ripple effect Epidemiology See Signal event. on the public, they hold the No. 1 ticket in the line for tort reform. "When doctors disappear, people notice it very quickly," said Dave Golden Dave Golden is a musician and a Fulbright Scholar, originally from New York, who currently resides in New Orleans and tours internationally. His career has spanned from jazz to classical to folk, bluegrass and country. , director of commercial lines for the National Association of Independent Insurers. Over the past year, huge increases in medical-liability insurance premiums caused an exodus of physicians from West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Mississippi and the temporary closing of the Las Vegas University Medical Center Trauma Center. These events forced the hand of state legislatures to pass tort-reform laws to bring physicians back to the job, to quell an anxious public and to help balance escalating medical-liability insurance premiums. Dr. Anderson points to the need for states with medical-liability problems to pass tort reform that imitates California's Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975, which caps noneconomic damages at $250,000. "In California we've had 27 years of experience with tort reform, and medical-liability insurance rates are only going up 5% to 7% annually today, and less than 3% per year historically," Dr. Anderson said. But as trouble spots such as Mississippi and Pennsylvania pass tort-reform laws, they aren't matching the MICRA standard and the constitutionality of the laws is being challenged as soon as they are passed. For example, the cap on noneconomic damages is considered to be the most effective part of any tort reform as it keeps jury awards from reaching unreasonable 1evels, but recent reforms haven't followed California's lead in this respect. Also, over the years, 21 states have found medical-liability tort-reform laws unconstitutional, said Ann W. Spragens, senior vice president and general counsel for the Alliance of American Insurers. In Florida, for instance, the state Supreme Court is considering whether the state's medical-liability reform act is unconstitutional because of the single subject rule, said Victor Schwartz, general counsel to the American Tort Reform Association The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), founded in 1986, is an organization that advocates for "tort reform." Its membership consists of more than 300 businesses, corporations, municipalities, associations, and professional firms. . The rule allows only one subject to be addressed at any time in a law. The rule, developed to prevent unrelated and unpopular rules being inserted into a law, allows for very elastic or subjective interpretation, so it is a favorite way for tort-reform opponents to overturn laws, Schwartz said. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , insurers are caught in a Catch-22 situation once medical-liability reforms are passed, not wanting to lower rates until the laws withstand the constitutional challenges. "Every year the trial bar launches assaults on tort reform, so defending it is as much of a battle as getting it in the first place," said Dr. Anderson. |
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