side note: This is an interesting article that illuminates a new trend relatively few in the healthcare community are familiar with. There’s a trend in some states where hedge funds will finance medical malpractice lawsuits in exchange for a percentage of any judgment. The fund will review a case, and if it believes the lawsuit […]

Side Note: As we all know, Obstetricians face some of the highest medical malpractice insurance rates in the country. This is, in part, because the average payout in an OB physician liability case is more than two times that of other medical specialties, at about $947,000. A recent study sheds light on the kinds of […]

Side Note: Wouldn’t you think that a physician who practices in a hospital would be more likely to a face medical liability that leads to a medical malpractice lawsuit than a physician who practices in an outpatient setting? Doesn’t it seem “safer” for a physician to practice in an office setting? Strangely enough, it’s not. […]

Side Note: Wrong-site, wrong-person surgeries are totally preventable –in theory. What we are finding is that despite “universal protocols,” and massive education efforts, major, even deadly, surgical errors are still occurring in alarming numbers. What are we learning about this physician liability? In 2006, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality requested that a study […]

side note: This is valuable news, and I’d recommend any physician who works in an outpatient setting review the guidelines discussed in the article below. The single best way to avoid significant increases in your medical malpractice insurance premiums is to practice effective risk management. It’s been shown time and time again that physicians with […]

Side Note: Where do you think most med mal errors occur that lead to med mal claims? In a hospital or in a physician’s office? Most people would guess in the hospital, but a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College shows that may not be the case. Reviewing data from 2005-2009, from the National […]

Side Note: Given the fact that the average payout in an OB medical malpractice case averages $947,000, more than twice the average of any other specialty, it is easy to see why OB med mal rates are so high, and it is important to find out the most common reason the med mal cases are […]

side note: This is the second part to Mahar’s ongoing look at the condition of the United States’ medical professional liability environment. It’s a lengthy examination, but well worth taking the time to read. By MAGGIE MAHAR Conservatives call it the “malpractice crisis.” Public Citizen, a liberal non-profit consumer organization based in Washington D.C., calls […]

side note: Obviously, this is not a solution to the United States’ medical malpractice issues, but it does illuminate how other countries are struggling with medical professional liability issues. What is interesting — and similar to a new plan launched in New York State — is the compensation fund for neurologically impaired infants that Japan […]