Doctors Tell County Council Of Their Malpractice Insurance Plight

By Barbara Ormsby ^ | 05/07/2003 | By Barbara Ormsby

[Tribune7]

A group of doctors, on the heels of a state-wide protest, brought their complaints about mounting malpractice insurance premiums to Delaware County Council's April 29 meeting.

[Tribune7]

Delaware County is in Pa. next to Philadelphia.

[Tribune7]

ping

[Tribune7]

ping

[Mamzelle]

Complaints won't do it...they're going to have to quit, en masse.

[Tribune7]

That's starting to happen. Last week they had a quasi-strike.

[RockBassCreek]

No they don't. They need the state legislature to pass a law that permits doctors to have their patients sign documents agreeing not to sue for malpractice UNLESS the doctor is first found liable for malpractice by a neutral, state-appointed committee of same-specialty doctors. Malpractice will be defined as gross professional negligence.

In other words, the patient can sue for REAL malpractice. Real malpractice will be determined by a committee doctors who have the same specialty as the doctor being sued. Real Malpractice will only be defined as gross professional negligence.

[Mamzelle]

Let the state pay the premiums for a year, and then you'll see liability limits come into play. Judges don't get sued for malpractice because they're privileged characters--but judges commit plenty of malpractice that ruins lives. When was the last time a personal injury lawyer tugged at your heartstrings because judges can't be sued for the damage they do? They just shrug.

It isn't just the docs, it's the hospitals. Even nurses are feeling the hit--they're sued more often than you realize.

[RockBassCreek]

Same with hospitals and nurses. No care for a patient until the patient agrees to take any malpractice urges before a neutral board. If the neutral board says gross negligence happened, then they're free to go to court. If not, then they're contractually bound NOT to do so.

Insurance companies (auto, house, etc.) have similar clauses in their policies that force you to abide by their arbitration rather than sue them.

[eeman]

That will come in a permanent way in a few years. Everyone is crying about the nursing shortage, it will be much harder to replace the physicians.

[Mamzelle]

The hospitals are already feeling the surprising lack of general surgeons...the guys who sew you back together after an accident, or remove the acute appendix. They are the first line of trauma surgeons for most hospitals (though you read more of the orthos and neuros coming up missing).

For years, public policy pushed med students into primary care residency programs--now we have a glut of FPs who compete with PAs for business, but are beginning to feel the lack of the specialist surgeons.

[Temple Owl]

No they don't. They need the state legislature to pass a law that permits doctors to have their patients sign documents agreeing not to sue for malpractice UNLESS the doctor is first found liable for malpractice by a neutral, state-appointed committee of same-specialty doctors. Malpractice will be defined as gross professional negligence. In other words, the patient can sue for REAL malpractice. Real malpractice will be determined by a committee doctors who have the same specialty as the doctor being sued. Real Malpractice will only be defined as gross professional negligence.

I like your idea. I think if implemented, it would help solve the proble. Term limits would also help.

[RockBassCreek]

I think there's also wisdom in legislation that establishes ratio's between actual damages and punitive damages. If actual damage is 1 million dollars, then punitive damage should rise no higher 10 times that for punitive damage involving gross negiglence. (10:1 was arbitrary - pick another number if you wish. Also, actual damage includes loss of income, costs of rehab., etc.)

[Temple Owl]

Yes, there are some rather easy solutions to the problem, but while greedy tort lawyers control the legislatures they will never be implemented.

[Tribune7]

I say do away with punitive damages entirely. The civil court system should not be used to punish. If punishment is required that should be a criminal matter.

No limit on actual damages and let them include legal fees (which should be limited to say $75 per hour) and the time and aggravation -- say $75 per hour -- the plantiff takes to obtain justice.

If punishment is required that should be a matter for criminal courts.

[eartotheground]

Maybe if the lawyers start suing each other that would help. Autodigestion. Parasites with a parasite host.

[Tribune7]

I said on another thread that the cure for lawyers is socialism. Let the government set their legal fees. You'd have a whole lot fewer lawyers.

Anyway, socialism is what the trial bar advocates for everybody else its seems. It's only fair.