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Archives
03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003 04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003 05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003 07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003 08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008 08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008 10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008 11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008 12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009 01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009 02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009 03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009 04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009 05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009 06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009 07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009 08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009 09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009 10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009 11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009 12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010 01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010 02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010 03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010  |
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Opinion - Eli Reshef, MD: Lawsuit reform is a worthy goal The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK - Feb 27, 2009 ...Oklahomans concerned with their access to medical care should contact the governor and their legislators and demand the passage of a comprehensive lawsuit reform this year... Insurers cut premiums in several states Renal and Urology News, NY - Feb 26, 2009 Doctors in at least four states are paying less for malpractice insurance than they were a year ago... Medical malpractice news
Miami No. 1 in nation for healthcare costs, study finds Miami Herald, FL - Feb 26, 2009 ...Some leading South Florida doctors maintain high costs are driven by the large number of malpractice lawsuits, which increase liability insurance prices and cause many doctors to go without coverage... Medical malpractice news
Medical marijuana, hospital laborists and Americans without insurance Star-Banner, Ocala, FL - Feb 25, 2009 ...Laborists -- hospital-based specialists -- are filling in the gaps as a growing number of obstetricians stop delivering babies because of malpractice insurance costs and long hours, the Boston Globe reports... ProAssurance Corp. far exceeds profit estimate in fourth quarter The Birmingham News, AL - Feb 25, 2009 ...ProAssurance Corp., the state's largest medical malpractice insurer, reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday and trounced analyst estimates by 89 percent in the process... Medical malpractice news
House to weigh changes in Oklahoma lawsuits The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK - Feb 24, 2009 ...Among other things, the bill would cap noneconomic damages, which generally are for pain and suffering, at $300,000. It would limit a jury to award punitive damages at $2 million and only if it found intentional or gross negligence by clear and convincing evidence... Oklahoma: House committee passes sweeping civil justice bill The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO (Associated Press) - Feb 23, 2009 ...The measure would also change guidelines for class-action lawsuits and cap punitive damages at $2 million. Supporters have said the changes are needed to stop frivolous lawsuits and lower the cost of medical malpractice insurance and liability insurance carried by businesses... Opinion - Jerry Frankel, MD: The need for medical liability reform Renal and Urology News, NY - Feb 23, 2009 ...By having no-fault compensation provided by the state for serious medical injuries, along with objective physician report cards, the quality of patient care would improve. With the threat of lawsuits removed, physicians would not be afraid to publish papers that discuss treatment complications and failures, or discuss these with colleagues... Medical malpractice news
Baby love leads to building boom Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, PA - Feb 23, 2009 ...Low insurance reimbursements and high medical liability costs are consistently the top reasons cited behind the obstetrics shortage in the state and region, according to a task force report by the Delaware Valley Health Care Council, a trade group for Philadelphia area hospitals... Opinion - Rep. Neal M. Kurk: Good start, but... Concord Monitor, NH - Feb 22, 2009 ...A significant part of the difference is covered with one-time money. This includes selling state assets, like the Concord liquor warehouse ($4 million), receiving upfront payments for leasing land around state liquor stores ($27 million), reducing the surplus in a state medical malpractice insurance fund ($60 million)... Opinion - Cornelia Brown: A healthy lesson in interpreting The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY - Feb 21, 2009 ...Meanwhile, the upfront cost of trained interpreters is dwarfed by the long-term costs of not providing them. Most medical malpractice suits spring from poor communication and violation of laws like HIPAA and informed consent... Medical Mutual doubles payment The News & Observer, Raleigh, NC - Feb 21, 2009 ...Medical Mutual Insurance Co. of North Carolina, which insures 8,812 physicians, also said Friday that the premiums it charges will be unchanged for the fourth consecutive year, thanks in part to a continued decline in the number of lawsuits filed... Medical malpractice news
Tort reform bid moves ahead in Oklahoma House The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK - Feb 20, 2009 ...The 2003 bill applied only to medical malpractice cases. HB 1570 would apply to all cases involving professional negligence... Editorial: Law to curb drug deaths Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, IL - Feb 20, 2009 ...The law would make any person or health care professional involved not liable for medical malpractice violations or criminal prosecution, regardless of the outcome of treatment. Narcan can reverse the effects of heroin and opiates... Editorial: Now for testimony from the targeted Charleston Daily Mail, WV - Feb 20, 2009 ...taking 30 percent of the awards had become such a lucrative industry in West Virginia that other essential societal services were endangered. Hence medical malpractice reform. Hence changes in insurance law, and big drops in premiums... Malpractice bill passes Senate committee KCPW-FM, Salt Lake City, UT - Feb 19, 2009 ...A bill moving through the Utah Senate aims to reduce the number of frivolous malpractice lawsuits that originate from emergency room visits. But some worry the bill only makes it harder for legitimate complaints to be settled... Medical malpractice news
House passes bill on contingency fee cap The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK (Associated Press) - Feb 19, 2009 ...The bill by state Rep. Dan Sullivan, R-Tulsa, would limit contingency fees assessed by trial lawyers on damage awards to their clients at 33 percent of the first $1 million recovered and 20 percent on higher awards. Attorneys would still be able to collect costs and expenses they incur in pursuing the case on top of contingency fees... MedChi rallies in Annapolis for health care reform Baltimore Business Journal, MD - Feb 18, 2009 ...MedChi is also urging lawmakers to oppose a bill that would ultimately force physicians to spend more money on malpractice premiums... Idaho state retirees may move to private insurance KIVI-TV, Boise, ID (Associated Press) - Feb 18, 2009 ...The state says it has to trim retirees from insurance to reduce an unfunded medical liability of $477 million and growing... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Charles M. Arlinghaus: The governor's proposed budget is still in the red Union Leader, Manchester, NH - Feb 18, 2009 ...The budget requires the use of close to a half billion dollars of one-time revenue sources, including the borrowing mentioned earlier, draining a medical malpractice insurance fund and using federal stimulus money to replace state spending for one budget... Medical malpractice news
Hospitals hurt by state budget cuts The Herald, Sierra Vista, AZ - Feb 17, 2009 ...The need to reform malpractice insurance laws is something the committee supports. Senator Carol Allen of Scottsdale is reintroducing a bill that would raise the bar for “burden of proof” in emergency room medical malpractice cases... Editorial: Attack of the trial lawyers Baltimore Sun, MD - Feb 17, 2009 Just because medical malpractice insurance rates have stabilized - and even gone down a bit for many doctors - doesn't mean it's time for Maryland to roll back hard-fought caps on noneconomic damages... Illinois bill targets heroin overdoses Northwest Herald, Crystal Lake, IL - Feb 17, 2009 ...No matter the outcome, any person or health care professional involved would not be liable for medical malpractice violations or criminal prosecution... Medical malpractice news
Hospitals struggling to recruit and retain doctors The Southampton Press, NY - Feb 16, 2009 ...Yet Long Island has extremely high malpractice insurance rates compared to rates in other states, and on the East End the cost of entry—buying a home—is also discouraging to young doctors coming out of medical school with a lot of debt... How area legislators voted Star-Gazette, Elmira, NY - Feb 16, 2009 ...A bill (A1254) that would prohibit interviews with someone else's physician when investigating malpractice or wrongful death. Passed 100 to 39... State House Dome: Searching for more $110 million rainbows MSNBC (The Union Leader, Manchester, NH) - Feb 16, 2009 ...The Joint Underwriting Association solved a malpractice crisis when private insurers left the state and doctors had no coverage. It was an insurer of last resort for professionals who couldn't get coverage anywhere else... Editorial - Governor gets the budget ball rolling Seacost Online, Portsmouth, NH - Feb 15, 2009 ...Some suggestions, such as an increase in the cigarette tax, were predictable. Others were surprising, such as the discovery of a $110 million surplus in the state’s little-known medical malpractice fund (we’re told by some that this windfall is too good to be true)... Bill targets contingency fees Tulsa World, OK - Feb 15, 2009 ...Legislation in the state House of Representatives would sharply reduce the share of settlements and jury awards that plaintiffs' attorneys could claim as fees. The bill, a legislative referendum that would bypass Gov. Brad Henry and go directly to voters, is the first shot in an all-out assault ... Medical malpractice news
Business briefs: APCapital's earnings off for quarter, year Lansing State Journal, MI - Feb 13, 2009 ...The medical liability insurance provider reported Thursday it earned $11.6 million, or $1.26 per share, for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31. That was down from a profit of $12.7 million, or $1.21 per share, one year earlier... 'Life Without Lawyers' author says judges need to reclaim authority Madison County Record, Edwardsville, IL - Feb 12, 2009 ...This modern approach to lawsuits is not about justice-it's about greed in the clothing of justice." He also says Americans "hate this overlawyered system" in which law is too involved in our daily choices... Medical malpractice news
Bill reaches compromise on outdated liability law The Oregonian, Portland, OR - Feb 11, 2009 ...His family filed a $17 million medical malpractice lawsuit against the university. Last September, after trial lawyers and OHSU announced they had settled on a damages cap, the university announced it had agreed to settle the Clarke case for $9.3 million... Emergency medicine physicians announce significant increase in doctors providing emergency care Blanco County News, Blanco, TX - Feb 11, 2009 ...Seventy-six counties have experienced a net gain in emergency physicians since the passage of medical liability reforms five years ago, including 39 medically underserved counties and 30 counties that are partially medically underserved... Medical malpractice news
Hawaii's medical malpractice controversy KGMB9 News, Honolulu, HI - Feb 10, 2009 ...Supporters claim the bill would help lower the cost of malpractice insurance which can run tens of thousands of dollars a year. The measure would limit the compensation for non-economic damages like pain and suffering... Health, online safety early focus of legislature Coppell Gazette, Plano, TX - Feb 10, 2009 ...Doctors representing the Texas Medical Association announced at a press conference Tuesday that tort reform has increased the number of emergency room physicians in Texas. They said lower malpractice premiums have especially helped rural areas add specialists and emergency room doctors... Opinion - Anthony J. Sebok: When President Obama turns his attention to health care reform, to what extent should he focus on medical malpractice liability? Findlaw, Eagan, MN - Feb 10, 2009 ...In order to understand the choices that will really face Obama and his health care czar, we have to clear away a few misconceptions about the relationship between the medical malpractice system and health care costs... Medical malpractice news
Editorial: Doctor shortage troubling Erie Times-News, PA - Feb 10, 2009 ...The reasons for the shortage are varied. Doctors continue to leave Pennsylvania because of high malpractice rates and judgments, especially in the southeastern part of the state... Medical malpractice news
State: Early senate focus on health, education, online safety Star Community Newspapers, TX - Feb 9, 2009 ...Doctors representing the Texas Medical Association announced at a press conference Tuesday that tort reform has increased the number of emergency room physicians in Texas. They said lower malpractice premiums have especially helped rural areas add specialists and emergency room doctors... Editorial: Make tobacco loophole go cold turkey The Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, PA - Feb 9, 2009 ...Rendell also proposes raising the state tax on cigarettes by 10 cents, bringing it to $1.45 a pack for an anticipated $61 million in additional revenues. And he wants to eliminate an existing transfer of cigarette tax revenue to a fund that helps doctors and hospitals pay for malpractice, yielding another $199 million... Editorial: Now is not the time to increase any tax The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA - Feb 9, 2009 ...The proposed budget also calls for the elimination of a $199 million program that was funded by cigarette taxes and helped doctors and hospitals pay their premiums for medical-malpractice insurance. That program was adopted a few years ago when physicians were complaining that the high cost of insurance was driving them out of the state... Governor plans for adult healthcare expansion with new state budget WFMZ-TV, Allentown, PA - Feb 8, 2009 ...Grassi says his biggest concern is that money could be coming from the state's MCARE fund...which is used to cover malpractice claims... Conservatives set agenda in Tenn. legislature The Jackson Sun, TN (Associated Press) - Feb 8, 2009 ...Ramsey said he wants lawmakers to pass limits on damages from medical malpractice lawsuits and to revise Tennessee's judicial selection process... Opinion - Bob Burdon: Chamber Notes: Health care is a high cost to bear The Capital, Annapolis, MD - Feb 8, 2009 ...Maryland physicians continue to be squeezed by high medical malpractice premiums, caps on what they may charge for certain procedures, and health insurance provider limits known as "usual and customary charges." Without relief, Maryland will face a health care crisis in future years ... Medical malpractice news
New Jersey court upholds certificate-of-merit rule American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Feb 5, 2009 ...New Jersey is among roughly 25 states that require plaintiffs, with the initial filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit, to include testimony from a qualified medical expert showing there is merit to the claim. In New Jersey experts must be in the same specialty as the defendant... Medical malpractice news
Rell's budget cuts deep into state's safety net Journal Inquirer, Manchester, CT - Feb 5, 2009 ...And in hopes of retaining more doctors in Connecticut, Rell also proposed a $750,000 cap for medical malpractice lawsuit awards for “noneconomic damages” such as pain and suffering... Report says state budget woes mostly self-inflicted New Richmond News, WI - Feb 5, 2009 ...The state is now being sued by the Wisconsin Medical Society which claims that money was not the states to take since it was paid for by taxpayers' funds, rather than by fees from doctors. The fund helps protect doctors against malpractice lawsuits... Editorial: When things go wrong The Daily Press, Newport News, VA - Feb 5, 2009 ...Virginia has tried to make it easier for medical practitioners to sit down and talk with patients and families, with a law that says that expressions of sympathy can't be used as an admission of liability in a wrongful-death suit or civil action by someone who's had what the law so delicately calls an "unanticipated outcome of health care."... State budget highlights The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA (Associated Press) - Feb 5, 2009 ...Eliminate cigarette tax-funded program that helps doctors and hospitals pay medical malpractice bills, freeing $199 million... Pa. survey says 1 million lack health insurance The Fulton County News, McConnellsburg, PA (Associated Press) -- Feb 5, 2009 ...Potential funding sources include part of a surplus from a state fund that helps doctors pay for medical malpractice insurance and a proposed new tax on cigars and smokeless tobacco... Text of Gov. Rendell's budget speech Altoona Mirror, PA (Associated Press) - Feb 4, 2009 ...I am also pleased to report that the malpractice reforms put in place by the General Assembly and the Supreme Court in the last several years have worked, and as a result the cost of malpractice insurance has been flat, and in some case even dropped, for the fourth year in a row... Merger assures Ob/Gyn services in Wayne County Wayne Independent, Honesdale, PA - Feb 4, 2009 ...“Over the last 10 years, we have seen decreased reimbursements from private insurers and medical assistance and increased costs of doing business, including steep hikes in malpractice insurance.”... Group discusses agenda with lawmakers The Register-Herald, Beckley, WV - Feb 4, 2009 ...Browning says workers’ compensation reform, medical malpractice reform and other business initiatives over the past few years are just some of the examples of what the state has done to help the business climate... Medical malpractice news
Report: State malpractice claims, insurance rates fall Business First of Columbus, OH - Feb 3, 2009 ...The Ohio Department of Insurance’s third annual report on professional liability claims shows 3,451 claims closed in 2007, the latest year for which statistics were available. That’s down 14 percent from 4,004 claims in 2006... Doctors thank House bill for help in ER Dallas Business Journal, TX - Feb 3, 2009 ...The Texas College of Emergency Physicians held a press conference in Austin on Tuesday, thanking lawmakers for the passage of House Bill 4 six years ago -- a move they credit for establishing the tort reforms needed to revamp medical malpractice suits in a fashion that would encourage more physicians to practice emergency medicine in the state... Physicians flock to Capitol to protect 2003 tort reform News 8 Austin, TX - Feb 3, 2009 ...Physicians credited the increase on a tort reform bill passed in 2003. The bill limited the amount of money a person could sue for in the event of malpractice... Medical malpractice news
Opinion - Noor Ahemd, MD; Robert Hamilton MD: Health care in the balance Madison County Record, IL - Feb 1, 2009 ...The result will be: an increase in the number of cases filed; out-of-court settlement of cases in which there was no neglect; increased risk for malpractice insurance companies; rapidly escalating malpractice premiums; and a dramatic decrease in the health care services available to people in Illinois... Medical malpractice news
At the same table: Alternative liability resolution American Medical News, Chicago, IL - Feb 2, 2009 ...The Abington project, supported by the Pennsylvania Medical Society, evolved with a nudge from the state Supreme Court in 2004. To fend off rising medical liability claims and insurance rates and keep doctors in the state, the high court, at the urging of Gov. Ed G. Rendell, encouraged hospitals to explore mediation to settle cases more efficiently... Hawaii's public hospital system will undergo restructuring Honolulu Advertiser, HI - Feb 2, 2009 ...State Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu, D-41st (Waipahu, Village Park, Waikele), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has proposed a package of bills designed to recruit and retain doctors and reduce their medical-malpractice insurance liability... "Hospitalists' growing specialty in Lee County, U.S. The News-Press, Fort Myers, FL - Feb 2, 2009 ...Some doctors feel exposed to liability because Lee Memorial is protected against lawsuits but they aren't, making them the potential "deep pockets" in malpractice cases and prompting them to limit hospital work... A call for health care for people, not for profits The Appalachian Independent, MD - Jan 31, 2009 ...6. We must create a sane alternative to the current overpriced, counterproductive, indeed, destructive system of malpractice insurance. This new option would separate financial compensation for patients from re-education and punishment of health professionals and hospitals... |
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