This study in PLoS Medicine reports that, based on estimates from publicly available data, drug manufacturers probably spend more money on advertising than they do for research and development. In the words of the study: "From this new estimate, it appears that pharmaceutical companies spend almost twice as much on…
We are hearing it again this year: doctors are leaving the state because we don’t have caps on damages in medical malpractice cases. When pressed for evidence on this point, a doctor will refer to "some guy in Memphis" or "some woman in Knoxville" who quit practicing medicine because of…
Here is an interesting article from the LA Times that discusses the cost of caps.
An Illinois trial judge has declared that caps on certain medical malpractice cases imposed by the Illinois Legislature violate the rights of medical malpractice victims. Read more here.
A new report issued by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance re-affirms what everyone in the state knows: further restrictions on patient rights are not necessary in Tennessee. The doctors (and occasionally the hospitals) have beat the tort reform drum for over thirty years, seeking further restrictions on the rights…
I think you will enjoy this article from the on-line version of the Fayetteville, North Carolina newspaper. A few excerpts: "Annual statements of Medical Mutual Insurance Co. of North Carolina filed with the N.C. Department of Insurance from 2001 through 2006 were studied and evaluated by former Missouri Insurance Commissioner…
The people opposed to the efforts to restrict the right to trial by jury in personal injury and wrongful death cases are fighting back – this time with a video on YouTube. Watch it here.
Good news for all concerned. SVMIC, the doctor-owned professional liability insurer, has announced a rate reduction. You probably won’t read about falling medical liability insurance rates in the newspaper, but you can tell your friends and neighbors that rates are dropping even though the Legislature has not placed caps on…
Pardon me, but I have always been a fan of facts. Opinions are like … noses, everybody has one. The Kaiser Family Foundation has analyzed paid claims data and discovered that in 2005 Tennessee had 10.1 paid med mal claims per 1000 active, non-federal physicians. Total paid claims were 156. …
The Arkansas Supreme Court struck down that portion of legislation requiring a plaintiff in medical negligence cases to file affidavits of merit in medical malpractice cases within 30 days of filing the complaint or face dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint. The Court ruled that the statute imposed a requirement for commencement…