Pennsylvania Med Mal Cases Down
Side Note: The state of Pennsylvania is currently reaping the benefits of some terrific med mal tort reform that went into effect in 2002. The Pennsylvania med mal reform, aimed at reducing the number of frivolous lawsuits that make it to court, is working. According to the article, since 2002, the number of Pennsylvania med mal cases has dropped by an average of 45.4 percent. In addition, the courts’ number of rulings in favor of health care defendants has risen, too, from 73 percent to 80 percent.
The Pennsylvania med mal reform enacted asks that a lawyer filing a medical malpractice case also file a statement by a medical expert attesting to the med mal case’s worthiness. And, the state also now requires that Pennsylvania med mal cases be filed in the county in which they occurred –no longer can lawyers “shop” their cases around to the most “plaintiff-friendly” counties.
Pennsylvania is a nice example of what good tort reform can accomplish. Reasonable legislation like this can save everyone (physicians, patients, the courts) significant time and money. In addition, the article mentions how the tort reform has also helped to stabilize Pennsylvania med mal rates. We here at MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com have seen the same trend. We have closely followed the price of Pennsylvania liability rates for the past ten years (along with every other state in the US). You may want to view the rates on our site.
Would you like to lower your Pennsylvania professional liability costs? Contact us today for a free no-cost, no-obligation quote.
Suits against doctors, hospitals lowest in a decade
By Peter Hall, OF THE MORNING CALL
Posted May 18, 2011 on mcall.com
The number of medical malpractice cases against Pennsylvania doctors and hospitals dropped in 2010 to the lowest point since the state’s high court enacted new rules designed to prevent frivolous lawsuits.
Statewide, the number of malpractice cases decreased by 45.4 percent from the average before the new rules took effect in 2002. Juries also returned verdicts in favor of defendant health care providers in more than 80 percent of cases statewide, up from an average of about 73 percent, according to data released Wednesday by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
