Doctors Have the Upper Hand At Trial
According to a recent article in the Milford Daily News, patients rarely prevail in malpractice suits against doctors. According to a Daily News review of court records beginning in 1998, 88 plaintiffs had their claims dismissed after a trial, while only 5 plaintiffs were awarded payments. According to a local attorney, juries are reluctant to rule against doctors because Massachusetts' reputation in medical care makes it hard for a jury to believe that a doctor could have made a mistake. Massachusetts Medical Society spokesman, Frank Fortin said he was not surprised by the small number of jury awards because doctors usually prevail in malpractice cases throughout the state. According to the Daily News, patients rarely sue hospitals in Massachusetts because state law limits negligence payments from a nonprofit hospital to $25,000, an amount that can easily be exceeded by the cost of pursuing the case.
Notwithstanding this onerous, patient biased law, Lt. Gov Kerry Healey filed legislation in May to enforce a cap on non-economic damages of $500,000 in negligence cases, change the burden of proof to make it even harder to win and reduce interest rates on malpractice awards so doctors guilty of malpractice do not have to pay as much.
The Massachusetts Medical Society is lobbying on behalf of Healey's bill with the same false argument that jury awards and settlements are driving up malpractice insurance rates, forcing doctors to leave Massachusetts for friendlier states. However, according to the Daily News, the vast majority of patients seeking compensation from doctors either never file a lawsuit or end up with no money. Citing Leonard Simon, a local attorney "out of every 100 cases I look at, I turn down between 97 and 98."
Moreover, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge found that malpractice payments are not the driving force behind increases in insurance premiums. Industry competition and the insurance underwriting cycle are what drives higher prices, the report said. In Massachusetts, the number of annual malpractice payments has begun declined 17 percent between 2001 and 2003. yet insurance premiums have risen 87 percent since 1999 and will rise 5.9 percent in 2007.
According to Richard Moore, an Uxbridge Democrat and co-chariman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing,
"the bulk of the cases where an injury has occurred usually are never addressed." The medical profession has a code of silence that prevents doctors from admitting errors because that could be used against them in court."
Moore goes on to state:
"Most people aren't looking to hit the lottery by suing their own doctor, we have to find a system that addresses everybody that gets injured, not just a few that are likely to have the big payouts."