State figures blur malpractice ‘crisis’: Analysis of Florida database finds lawsuits in decline and few payouts over $250,000

But a Times-Union review of malpractice cases since 1999 casts a different and more complex picture.

The analysis of the state’s database indicates there doesn’t appear to be a “crisis” in terms of rising lawsuits, frivolous claims or excessive number of high payouts above $250,000 — “runaway verdicts” as Bush calls them.

Rather, the Florida Department of Financial Services data crosschecked with analysis of the National Practitioner Data Bank showed:

–Malpractice lawsuits have been in decline in recent years and rarely involve temporary minor injuries. The majority involve permanent and serious injuries.

–Nearly all have been settled outside courtrooms.

And only about 1 in 6 result in payments more than $250,000 for pain and suffering. Insurance companies would have saved about 24 percent had there been caps.
“That falls under the category of common misconception,” said Kevin Bingham, who studies medical liability insurance for the American Academy of Actuaries in Washington…{{link http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042703/met_12390964.shtml/ MORE}}

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