Pennsylvania recently amended its long-standing law regarding joint and several liablity. Joint and several liability applies when more than one party is responsible for an injury. Under the old law, any party at least one percent at fault was jointly and individually liable for all of the damages. This protected the injured victim when the most responsible party had insufficient insurance or assets. This has now changed with the recent amendments. The joint and several liability amendments limit the liability of a defendant who is less than 60% at fault to his proportionate share of liability. Under the amendments’ language, however, … [Read more...]
Many Doctors Disciplined But Escape Licensing Action
March 18, 2011 by
According to the National Practitioner Data Bank, from 1990 to 2009, over 10,000 doctors had clinical privilege actions. This means restriction or revocation of their privileges. However, almost 6000 of these doctors had no action taken against them by their state licensing board. Almost 2000 of these doctors had the most serious violations. The state licensing boards are sleeping on the switch. To improve medical care, let's weed out the bad doctors, not worry about tort deform which takes away patients' rights. For more information … [Read more...]
Less Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Being Filed in Pennsylvania
March 17, 2011 by
According to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, in 2009 there were only 1,533 medical malpractice lawsuits filed in Pennsylvania. This represents a 42 percent decline in medical malpractice lawsuits in Pennsylvania since 2000. … [Read more...]
Hot Coffee Director: Tort Deform Myths
March 16, 2011 by
Check out this interview with the director of Hot Coffee. This film debunks the myth that there are too many frivolous lawsuits. Every consumer should watch this movie before being tricked by the propaganda of the insurance industry and Chamber of Commerce. Hot Coffee Interview: … [Read more...]
New England Journal of Medicine Article: Malpractice Reform Should Focus On Disclosure and Early Resolution
April 15, 2010 by
In a recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (March 31, 2010), the authors recognize that traditional methods of malpractice reform, such as state caps on non-economic damages, may not be working. As noted in the article, this past February the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the state’s cap was unconstitutional. There are three distinct types of “disclosure and offer” programs. To discourage lawsuits, each of these programs encourage candid disclosure about medical injuries, apologies when appropriate and providing for the patient’s financial needs, in at least a limited … [Read more...]
