A recent article in a medical publication stated that malpractice insurance premiums for three representative specialties have gone down for the past two years, albeit by small amounts.
[Malpractice Premiums Drop for 6th Straight Year][1]
The reason, it seems likely, is that the number of malpractice lawsuits has decreased steadily over the past five years. Yet the national medical organizations as well as the insurance carriers continue to “cry wolf” and contend that doctors are being priced out of the malpractice insurance market because of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits.
The real question that should be asked is “why are the number of malpractice lawsuits going down when there continue to be huge numbers of deaths from preventable medical errors?” See my earlier post on this here: [Estimates of Annual Deaths From Medical Mistakes Grow Higher][2].
The answer to that question is simply that malpractice lawsuits are so expensive and risky that most attorneys cannot afford to take on a case with modest damages. Many people who suffer because of medical negligence find that the courthouse doors are effectively shut to them.
The high expenses associated with malpractice cases are the result of two factors: the willingness of malpractice insurance carriers to spend large amounts of money defending even meritorious claims, and the fact that almost all malpractice cases require expert testimony that is becoming increasingly expensive. It is not uncommon for experts in specialties such as neurosurgery or neuroradiology to charge up to $1,000 an hour or more and to require prepayment of $3-5,000 simply to agree to review a potential case. An attorney handling such cases on a contingent-fee basis not only faces the risk of not getting paid for her or his time if the case does not resolve favorably, but also absorbing the out-of-pocket costs of prosecuting the case if, as is common, the clients cannot afford to pay those costs.
[1]: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/812451?nlid=35983_2105&src=wnl_edit_medp_card&spon=2 “Malpractice Premiums Drop for 6th Straight Year”
[2]: https://cmglaw.com//blog/2013/09/estimates_of_annual_deaths_from_medical_mistakes_g/ “Estimates of Annual Deaths From Medical Mistakes Grow Higher”
