Articles Posted in Tort Reform

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 promotion as they do on R&D. These numbers clearly show how promotion predominates over R&D in the pharmaceutical industry, contrary to the industry’s claim. While the amount spent on promotion is not in itself a confirmation of Kefauver’s depiction of the pharmaceutical industry, it confirms the public image of a marketing-driven industry and provides an important argument to petition in favor of transforming the workings of the industry in the direction of more research and less promotion."

This study makes it clear that it is using estimates to reach its conclusions.  The manufacturers don’t report this data, so the authors had to take the limited available information and do what they could.  Obviously, they could be wrong.

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 the risk of being sued.

Set aside the fact that the risk of being sued exists whether there are damage caps or not.  Are doctors leaving the state?

Well, consider this.  In 1975, at the time of the first medical malpractice crisis, Tennessee had 11.3 doctors of medicine in patient care for every 10,000 residents.

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 on patients to bring malpractice claims.  They launched an attack on Justice Holder’s re-election effort.  They write op-ed pieces, talk to their patients, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on political contributions each legislative cycle, and employ more and more lobbyists – all to get the Legislature to give them even more special treatment in the courtroom.

The legislative effort has failed to date, but the jury pool has been contaminated.  Those of us who handle medical malpractice cases know this from our experience, but a new report from the Department confirms that experience.

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 Jay Angoff and some of his findings are:

Underwriting gain — the amount they earned on their insurance business — was up by 948 percent in only two years, from $2.1 million in 2004 to $22 million in 2006.

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 damages in medical malpractice cases.

Here are the rate changes, by specialty:

Anesthesiology      – 14.1%
Cardiac Surgery    – 14.1%
Gynecological Surgery      – 14/1%
Family Practice – non-procedural     – 9.3%
Orthopedic Surgery       – 9.3%
Pediatrics          – 9.3%
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine       – 5.2%
Internal Medicine          + 3.3%
Infectious Disease, Hospitalists        + 3.3%
Gastroenterology       + 5.0%
Interventional Cardiology         + 5.8%
Pathology           +10.0%
Emergency Medicine       +15.0%
Most other specialties        – 4.5%

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 national average was 17.1 paid claims per 1000 active, non-federal physicians.

Tennessee ranked 12th lowest in the Nation by this measure.  We are the fourth lowest in the South Census Region.