The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

The Post-Dispatch on Medical Malpractice

Over the weekend, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a long editorial about the "medical malpractice crisis" in Madison County, Illinois, titled "Illinois Malpractice: Is there a doctor in the house?" Among other things, the Post appeared open-minded about the "Sorry Works" program:

The state might also take a look at a program called "Sorry Works." Pioneered at Veterans Affairs hospitals, it calls for doctors and hospitals to admit their mistakes to patients, apologize and offer payment before lawsuits are filed. Advocates say it actually reduces payouts while easing the lives of patients.

Towards the end of the editorial, the Post rightly criticized another idea: "The state shouldn't subsidize malpractice premiums for doctors, as some Democrats suggest. As justifiably angry as they are about insurance rates, doctors still earn much more than the average citizen."

Tort "Reform"?

From the Joplin Independent: "Statistics Don't Support Bush's Claim That Tort Reform Will Minimize Costs."

Sorry Works, Continued

In a guest editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dr. Steve Kramer criticizes damage limits in medical malpractice cases, arguing that such limitations "hurt those people who have suffered the most from medical errors." Instead, Dr. Kramer favors the program called "Sorry Works"--

The solution? Stay out of court. How? By admitting mistakes, disclosing the facts about errors (directly to the victims), apologizing and negotiating fair compensation when justified.

I co-directed just such a program for 16 years at the VA Medical Center in Lexington, Ky. We treated victims of medical errors as we would want to be treated if we found ourselves in their situation. The patients and their families were dealt with decently and with honesty and reason, and they responded in kind.

For more, see the guest editorial, titled "Medical Malpractice: When all else fails, 'sorry' works wonders."

What "Lawsuit Abuse Epidemic"?

A recent edition of the Granite City Press Record Journal featured a Letter to the Editor by Dave Spellmeyer, the President of the United Steelworkers of America Local 1063. Titled "Insurance Companies Need to Be Held Accountable," the letter begins:

The Granite City Press-Record Journal ran a letter to the editor on Wednesday, March 24, that read "It's time for voters in Southern Illinois to start looking deeper at each and every candidate and how they plan to solve the lawsuit abuse epidemic."

I ask, what lawsuit abuse epidemic? The voters need to look deeper at their candidates. We as American voters should insist that laws be passed to make insurance companies accountable for raising their rates. Right now in Illinois there are no such laws. The insurance companies can raise their rates and not answer to anyone.

For the rest of the letter, look here.

Doctors Take On ISMIE

From the Edwardsville Intelligencer: "Doctors take on ISMIE leadership," by Norma Mendoza. According to the article--

A group of physicians in the Chicago area is taking action to change the makeup of the board of directors of Illinois Medical Insurance Inter-Exchange Mutual, or ISMIE, the company that provides malpractice insurance for approximately 56 percent of Illinois physicians.

. . .

According to a letter mailed to fellow physicians, the group of candidates states that premiums have consistently multiplied while physician income has plummeted. They claim that the company's prestige and bond rating have gone down and ISMIE's activities have been openly criticized in the lay press.

"Questions about how our hard-earned premium dollars are being spent remain unanswered," the letter continues. "Requests by ISMIE policyholders to open its books have been spurned."

Tort "Reform" and Racial Prejudice?

From the Center for Justice and Democracy comes "Tort Reform" and Racial Prejudice: A Troublesome Connection ("a new study that shows how the effort to restrict victims' legal rights specifically hurts racial and ethnic minorities and how racial issues have been used by the 'tort reform' movement to further its agenda") (.pdf format).

Update: "Victims and Families United"

Here's more about the rally at the Madison County courthouse on behalf of "Victims and Families United" -- "Rally supports rights of plaintiffs," by Sanford J. Schmidt of the Alton Telegraph.

"Victims and Families United"

A new grassroots organization calling itself "Victims and Families United" is the subject of an article in the Alton Telegraph : "Victims say suits justified, to offer malpractice fixes," by Sanford J. Schmidt.

Judy Buckles helped form a group Victims and Families United. They say they formed because they are tired of hearing groups funded by Corporate America complain about justice in Madison County.

She said she resents the implication that all lawsuits filed here are frivolous.

"Not all lawsuits are frivolous, and behind every lawsuit is a real victim or family who is seeking justice and democracy," she said.

. . .

"This new Metro East grassroots group is dedicated to telling ‘the other side’ of the lawsuit debate in Madison County.

"Their mission is to bring balance and fairness to the debate and protect access to the courts for victims and their families," a spokesman said.

Buckles said "tort reform" groups such as "Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch" and the national American Tort Reform Association are funded by big companies, including tobacco makers and asbestos manufacturers who are concerned about losing money in the Madison County courts.

Democratic Candidates: How They Feel About Limiting Your Rights

An interesting article by Anothony J. Sebok of findlaw.com explores how each of the Democratic candidates for President views the issue of "tort reform," which means imposing limitations on an injured person's right to seek compensation in court. Titled "Issues of Civil Justice and Tort Reform: What Role Will They Play in the Democratic Primaries?," the article examines the views on tort reform held by Howard Dean, John Edwards, John Kerry, and Wesley Clark.

"The Tort Reform Scam"

Here's an interesting opinion piece arguing that the big business lobby uses scare tactics to further its agenda of tort "reform" -- "The Tort Reform Scam," by John David Rose. Mr. Rose offers this explanation for the high cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums for doctors:

True, insurance companies have increased premiums. But the real reason for astronomical rate increases is not an explosion of lawsuits and sky-high jury awards.

When the stock market tanked in 2001, so did insurance company profits. They'd been making a ton of money investing "loss reserves" in the booming, pre-Bush stock market.

When the bubble burst, they raised their rates to keep investors happy.

There is related commentary in today's Edwardsville Intelligencer: "I-Law to post candidates' views," by Norma Mendoza. In this article, a Madison County lawyer, Richard Burke, explained that all those things we've been hearing about out-of-control jury verdicts against doctors in Madison County is false:

"Yes, there is a health care problem, a number of problems," Burke said. "The most obvious answer is [doctors] cannot afford the malpractice rates. When you ask why are they so high, they say, 'Too many lawsuits.' How many is too many and what is too high? Since 1996, there have only been 11 malpractice cases that resulted in verdicts, seven for the doctors and four for the patients. The biggest was $1.7 million which is not very big."

The other three verdicts awarded the patients $450,000, $75,000 and $25,000 in separate cases.

"Why do they assume that jurors don't know how to interpret the facts and evidence?" Burke said. "They are full of everyone, all kinds of people on them. Or is it just an attack on the judiciary?"

Burke said the reason malpractice premiums are high in this area is because this is the most heavily populated area in the Southern part of the state and has more hospitals and doctors than nearly any city south of Chicago.

He said the principle behind insurance has always been that the people who don't have claims must pay for the people who do, but the medical insurers in Illinois don't operate that way. The physicians in counties with smaller numbers don't want to pay for the claims in Madison County and thus it is up to the physicians in the county to pay.