1 / 18

Frivolous Lawsuits

Frivolous Lawsuits. Fact or Fiction?. Bill Burns Holborn Corporation September 23, 2002. “The _____ doth protest too much, methinks”. Doctors Insurance Industry Lawyers All of the above. Ground Rules. Malpractice DOES happen and comes with a price

maryloum
Download Presentation

Frivolous Lawsuits

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Frivolous Lawsuits Fact or Fiction? Bill Burns Holborn Corporation September 23, 2002

  2. “The _____ doth protest too much, methinks” • Doctors • Insurance Industry • Lawyers • All of the above

  3. Ground Rules • Malpractice DOES happen and comes with a price • Insurance companies DID make mistakes in the 90’s (Remember the soft market?)

  4. What Do Plaintiff Attorneys Say? “The fundamental assumptions upon which the ‘tort reform’ movement is based (i.e., that an uncontrollable tide of ‘frivolous lawsuits’ is flooding the nation) is a fiction that is unsupported by the facts. (cont’d)

  5. “So where is the litigation explosion? Only in the minds and skewed statistics proffered by insurance industry spokespersons and lobbyists.” Bucks County (PA) attorney August 2002

  6. Frivolous Lawsuits? – You Be the Judge • Big Guy vs Big Food • Man Who Thought He Was Dead Sues Airline • Beagle Bites Back • Louisville Slugger

  7. Definition Medical malpractice is the failure of a health care provider to exercise the degree of care required of a professional in the same type of practice rendering comparable care under similar circumstances and that proximately causes injury to a patient.

  8. For there to be a finding of malpractice the plaintiff must show: • Existence of legal duty • Breach of duty • Nonfeasance • Malfeasance • Proximate cause • Damages sustained

  9. You Be the Judge II • You Mean I’m Suing that Nice Doctor? • Doctor Strikes Back • Secret Deal Unraveled

  10. More From Plaintiff Attorneys • “Med mal insurers are making a profit” • “There are far fewer lawsuits than there could be” • “It doesn’t have to be negligence – it just has to look that way”

  11. AMA Study Released June 2002 showing medical liability insurance has: • Reached crisis proportions in 12 states • Is “OK” in 6 states • Is showing problem signs in all other states

  12. Crisis States • Florida • Georgia • Mississippi • Nevada • New Jersey • New York • Ohio • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Texas • Washington • West Virginia

  13. “OK” States • California • Colorado • Indiana • Louisiana • New Mexico • Wisconsin

  14. Medical Economics Study • Identified states with the highest and lowest number of lawyers per capita, who have won $1M jury verdicts in civil litigation including malpractice. • Source: Million-Dollar Advocate Forum – U.S. Census Bureau

  15. Highest Number of $1M Lawyers (#) • District of Columbia (15.7) • Florida (17.6) • Hawaii (10.6) • Missouri (12.4) • Mississippi (11.9) • Nevada (19.5) • New Jersey (12.4) • Ohio (10.7) • Pennsylvania (16) • West Virginia (13.3)

  16. Lowest Number of $1M Lawyers (#) • Colorado (1.6) • Idaho (1.5) • Indiana (2.1) • Nebraska (1.8) • New Mexico (1.6) • North Dakota (0) • Oregon (2.0) • South Dakota (1.3) • Utah (3.1) • Wisconsin (2.2)

  17. So What’s the Answer? • Tort reform? • Who decides what is fair? • What if it happened to you? • Are we overlooking other solutions?

  18. Something To Think About • What is the role of managed care in this mess?

More Related