As a result of rapidly rising medical malpractice insurance premiums, reduced availability of coverage, and financially distressed liability insurers, many states have passed tort reforms. This synthesis examines the medical malpractice ""crisis"" and the effect of state tort reforms. Evidence shows that caps on non-economic damages reduce the average size of malpractice awards by 20 to 30 perc...

In the 1970's, Michigan and other states were confronted with a medical malpractice crisis of astronomical proportions. The escalating number of medical malpractice lawsuits and concomitant increase in malpractice premiums for health care providers fostered a divisive climate among doctors, lawyers and patients. In response to this crisis, the Michigan legislature enacted the Medical Malpractic...

In medical malpractice, perhaps more than in any other field of civil personal injury compensation, the blunt instrument of tort law is as well suited to the social needs of contemporary Canadian society as the feudal art of trial by combat was in settling civil disputes in earlier times. Plaintiffs have long complained that lawyers are reluctant to take on these cases because malpractice insur...

PROFESSIONAL liability insurance has become society's chief agency for the distribution of the cost of malpractice by the medical profession. It is quite natural that the medical practitioner, conscious of the possibility of a ruinous malpractice judgment, should seek the protection of insurance. Several factors indicate that this segment of the insurance industry will grow rapidly in the futur...

Veterinarians today face an increased risk for malpractice claims in view of increased client awareness of the benefits of the human-animal bond and advances in preventive and specialized veterinary medicine. An important problem with medical malpractice litigation is the manner in which malpractice claims are resolved. In several countries, thousands of claims have been successfully resolved v...

Few issues elicit more emotion from physicians than medical malpractice. The very word "malpractice" implies guilt and immediately places the involved physician on the defensive. Defensive medicine adds 5% to 9% to the cost of medical care. Numerous solutions have been proposed, but special interests have blocked the implementation of these solutions in most states. Tort reform is necessary to ...

INTRODUCTION The analysis of malpractice complaints can provide valuable information on patient safety. This study offers a detailed examination of the backgrounds concerning reasons and outcomes of ear, nose and throat (ENT) malpractice complaints handled by the National Board of Patients' Complaints (NBPC), 1998-2008. MATERIAL AND METHODS All NBPC decisions related to the ENT specialty from...