Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

WPVI in Philadelphia ran a story on the expanding role of mediation in settling medical malpractice claims in Pennsylvania. Specifically, the story referenced the mediation program at Abington Memorial Hospital in Montgomery County, which we had discussed a few weeks ago. The program for mediation still seems like a good idea, and the article promotes it. However, the article also begins with the statement, “Over the past three years Pennsylvania has lost more than 16-hundred doctors. Many left because the skyrocketing number of medical malpractice lawsuits made getting malpractice insurance too expensive.” This article assumes two things, first that the loss of doctors is due to the cost of medical malpractice insurance, which seems unlikely because Pennsylvania, unlike many other states, has an abatement for doctors for the cost of their medical malpractice insurance.

Second, the article assumes that the relationship between claims made against doctors and the medical malpractice insurance rates is cause and effect. This claim also seems to be untrue. According to a study conducted by a former Missouri insurance commissioner, from 2000-2004, the amount paid out by medical malpractice insurance companies for claims remained essentially flat, while medical malpractice insurance premiums went up by over 120 percent.

The conclusion: Yes, medical malpractice insurance rates are going up, and maybe doctors are leaving the state because of it. But is this the fault of medical malpractice claims and payouts? It certainly does not seem so.

If you have received poor care as a result of a doctor’s negligence or incompetence, you need to make a claim to protect others from receiving the same poor care. To learn how, contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP today for a free initial consultation.