Study contradicts med-mal 'reform' arguments
This from the American Association of Justice : Less than a quarter of the claims that doctors filed with an insurer seeking coverage for medical malpractice liability resulted in payments to the patients who alleged harm, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine . The low rate of payments shows that insurers deny far more claims than they pay--and that the so-called medical malpractice crisis is nonexistent, plaintiff lawyers say. The study, " Malpractice Risk According to Physician Specialty ," looked at data between 1991 and 2005 for all the physicians covered by one national insurer. It found that while 7.4 percent of physicians faced a malpractice claim annually, only 1.6 percent had a claim that led to a payment. Seventy-eight percent of claims did not result in payments. The study considered only claims filed with the insurer, not lawsuits filed in court. "What this new study tells us is that the supposed wa