Latest Medical Professional Liability Headlines

All the headlines from our Medical Professional Liability Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Government Appeals $8.6 Million Judgment in Illinois Malpractice Case

Dec 15 2008 // The U.S. government wants a federal judge in Illinois to trim his $8.6 million judgement over a former Scott Air Force Base doctor’s failure to properly treat a woman’s case of flesh-eating bacteria.Federal...

Medical Malpractice Screening under Scrutiny in New Hampshire

Dec 11 2008 // It’s been three years since New Hampshire started screening medical malpractice cases before trial, but it’s hard to say whether the new system is a success.Doctors and their lawyers say having a special panel...

Obama Laying Groundwork for Overhaul of U.S. Health Insurance

Dec 5 2008 // President-elect Barack Obama has begun laying the groundwork for overhauling the troubled U.S. healthcare system, reaching out to interest groups and building grass-roots support for the huge undertaking.Obama, who takes...

California Announces 20.5 Percent Malpractice Insurance Rate Cut for The Doctors Co.

Nov 26 2008 // Califiornia Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced a 20.5 percent rate cut for medical malpractice insurance offered by The Doctors Co. following its acquisition of SCPIE Holdings Inc. saving $54.3 million...

Thumbs Down on Late Malpractice Suit, West Virigina Court Rules

Nov 25 2008 // The West Virginia Supreme Court says a man who found a piece of scalpel in his thumb can’t press his claim because he waited too long to file his lawsuit.In a 4-1 ruling, the high court said Paul and Melissa Forshey...

Oklahoma Physician Liability Insurer Declares Policyholder Dividends

Nov 21 2008 // Oklahoma City-based Physicians Liability Insurance Company (PLICO), announced it is declaring a dividend for its 2008 policyholders who renew their policies for 2009. The dividend will be either 3 percent or 6 percent of...

Beecher Carlson Appoints Schmidt to Healthcare Practice in San Francisco

Nov 20 2008 // Beecher Carlson, a commercial insurance brokerage and risk management consultancy, has expanded its National Healthcare practice with the appointment of Daniel H. Schmidt as managing director. Schmidt brings 20 years...

Supporters Ask Illinois Supeme Court to Uphold Malpractice Caps

Nov 17 2008 // A 2005 law limiting the amount of money juries may award in medical malpractice cases unfairly targets those most seriously injured who deserve the most compensation, lawyers told the Illinois Supreme Court on Nov....

Lockton Insurance Brokers Names Baker Health Risk Management Director

Nov 7 2008 // Jesica Baker has joined Lockton Insurance Brokers LLC, the Southern California subsidiary of Lockton Companies, as director of health risk management. Baker’s expertise in the healthcare industry spans more than 20...

Medicus OK’d to Provide Medical Professional Liability Coverage in Ark.

Nov 5 2008 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Julie Benfield Bowman and Medicus Insurance Company Chairman Howard Lamb announced that Medicus Insurance Company has been approved to write medical professional liability insurance in...

New Jersey Eyes Help for Patients after Medical Errors

Nov 3 2008 // New Jersey hospital patients and the companies insuring them would no longer be on the hook to pay for care after a serious medical error occurs, under legislation introduced this month by a New Jersey assemblyman.The...

Nevada Cap on Medical Damage Awards Draws Criticism

Oct 31 2008 // As 59-year-old Richard Krikalo lumbers through the office of a junkyard he helps manage, he bumps into a desk and clips a wastebasket with his right leg.Krikalo is almost blind in his right eye and has trouble with depth...

South Dakota Supreme Court Allows New Medical Malpractice Trial

Oct 31 2008 // The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a circuit judge’s decision to grant a new trial in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Huron doctor. The lawsuit arose out of complications suffered by Lillian Glanzer...

Wisconsin Parents Win $11.4 Million in Malpractice Suit

Oct 27 2008 // A Wisconsin jury has awarded the parents of a brain-damaged boy $11.4 million in a medical malpractice case. Chad and Amy Jelinek of Eastman claimed in a 2006 lawsuit that negligent care by a nurse and nurse midwife at...

The Truth About AIG and Pennsylvania’s P/C Markets

Oct 20 2008 // As problems began unfolding at American International Group last month, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario was tapped to be the vice chairman of a special task force of the National Association of Insurance...

Medical Professional Liability Insurer Drops Rates by 6.2% in Texas

Oct 17 2008 // Medical professional liability insurer Medical Protective announced a 6.2 percent average rate decrease for physicians in Texas, effective Jan. 1, 2009.The rate change represents the sixth rate reduction for the insurer in...

Mo. Docs Move to Kan. Citing Lower Malpractice Costs

Oct 6 2008 // A Missouri physicians’ group plans to build a new medical office building in Galena, Kan., citing lower malpractice insurance costs across the state line. Dr. Christopher Banwart, a member of Orthopedic Specialists...

Real Estate Lawyers Face Rising Malpractice Claims

Oct 1 2008 // Legal malpractice claims related to real estate are up approximately four percentage points according to the just-released American Bar Association study of legal malpractice claims for 2004-2007 compared to the previous...

Medical Malpractice Insurer Lowers Mass. Rates 2.7%

Sep 25 2008 // CMIC, a doctor-owned medical malpractice insurer, announced a 2.7 percent overall rate reduction in its claims made rates for Massachusetts doctors effective Oct. 1, 2008. Denise Funk, CEO of CMIC, credited the continued...

Docs Tout Lower Malpractice Costs as Impetus to Move to Kansas

Sep 19 2008 // A Missouri physicians’ group plans to build a new medical office building in Galena, Kan., citing lower malpractice insurance costs across the state line. Dr. Christopher Banwart, a member of Orthopedic Specialists...