gee . . . caps on lawsuit damages don't seem to help much . . .

according to this release from the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights . . .

Nation's Largest Medical Malpractice Insurer Declares Caps on Damages Don't Work, Raises Docs' Premiums

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/pr/pr004692.php3

Santa Monica, CA -- The nation's largest medical malpractice insurer, GE Medical Protective, has admitted that medical malpractice caps on damage awards and other limitations on recoveries for injured patients will not lower physicians' premiums.

The insurer's revelation was made to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) in a regulatory filing obtained by FTCR. The revelation was contained in a document submitted by GE Medical Protective to explain why the insurer planned to raise physicians' premiums 19% a mere six months after Texas enacted caps on medical malpractice awards. In 2003, Texas lawmakers passed a $250,000 cap on non-economic damage compensation to victims of medical malpractice caps after Medical Protective and other insurers lobbied for the change.

According to the Medical Protective filing: "Non-economic damages are a small percentage of total losses paid. Capping non-economic damages will show loss savings of 1.0%." The company also notes that a provision in the Texas law allowing for periodic payments of awards would provide a savings of only 1.1%. The insurer did not even provide its doctors that relief and eventually imposed a rate hike on its physician policyholders.

- more . . .

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/pr/pr004692.php3

We've had it for years in Louisiana where you basically can't get "punitive damages." You can only get proven economic damages. And we are known for being a lawsuit hazard. The trouble is that if you really sit down and calculate the damages caused by, say, being paralyzed for life, it runs into the millions of dollars if the victim is fairly young. Giving lawyers and accountants a motive to document the actual damages caused by medical malpractice probably costs the insurance companies MORE than the "cap" could ever dream of saving.

Medical errors are the eighth leading cause of wrongful death in the United States -- 98,000 each year. The myth that frivolous malpractice lawsuits are driving up insurance rates and medical costs allow negligent doctors to continue practicing.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners reports that the number of new medical malpractice claims actually declined by about four percent from 1995 to 2000. While medical costs have increased by 113 percent since 1987, the amount spent on medical malpractice insurance has increased by just 52 percent over that time.

... a signal to the slugs in the Texas legislature to enact new constitutional amendments to cap economic awards, as well.

Will Texas residents now demand that the Lege enact new constitutional amendments to repeal the caps, because the caps had no downward effect on health care costs, as they were told? Not on your life.

to practice their love acrost Amerika. Why don't you love an oh-bee-gee-why-enn like you want to be loved yourself? Go across the street, and hug a shut-in, already.

... the goal of an ambulance chaser IS NOT to get one of those record judgements. They're playing numbers games with the insurance industry bringing as MANY suits as they can in anticipation of getting token out of court settlments.

It's THIS practice that has to be stopped. There needs to be mechanisms that PUNISH lawyers for filing frivolous lawsuits with NO BASIS in the law. Lawyers who tie up the courts with NONSENSE for no good reason need to be FINED and disbarred if necessary.

It hasn't done much to clear the crowding in the courts.

The trouble is that 99 percent of the time there really isn't any such thing as a frivolous lawsuit. When you really look at some of these "frivolous" disputes, they are actually a cause of reasonable people not being able to reach an agreement because they have a wildly different view of the facts. In that case, it is right and reasonable for people to expect to get their day in court.

If you punish lawyers for filing cases that are not "slam dunks," a lot of victims will be badly hurt because they will be unable to find lawyers to prosecute their cases. Lawyers must be given a motive to go to court and defend their client's point of view. They should not be punished for trying to win a decent settlement for badly injured people even if, in the end, they do lose a given case.

and management and you can see what a crisis we really have.

Those poor insurance companies. Trying so hard to help poor Americans.

Sigh.

docs and the AMA, as well as an insurance industry ploy to blame their rate increases on trial lawyers.