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CMIC POSITION ON MALPRACTICE TORT REFORM
CMIC is taking a leading role in pressing the need for changes in the legal system to make lawsuits more sensible and malpractice insurance more affordable. CMIC recently submitted a Tort Reform Position Paper to the Insurance Commissioner, here summarized, detailing the reasons for the impending crisis and its proposals for legislative change. v Societal changes in attitudes and expectation have increased the risks of litigationChanges in society over the past 10 to 15 years have sharply increased the risks of litigation for physicians. Society’s expanding expectations for quality and availability of care, attitudes toward compensation of injury victims and notions of value have significantly affected the physician’s financial exposure in malpractice suits. Physicians are being held to higher standards and damage awards of many millions of dollars are becoming commonplace. v Increasing demands on physiciansPhysicians face problems in lawsuits that no other defendants face. At a time when the clinical, administrative, regulatory and economic pressures of medical practice have expanded dramatically, the pressures of litigation for physicians have also exploded. Physicians who choose to settle cases face Data Bank reports, State investigations, the risk of adverse actions against their medical license, increased cost of insurance coverage and other consequences. Physicians who choose not to settle face the risk of ruinous damage awards by run-away juries. This conundrum is personally and professionally debilitating to physicians and adversely affects healthcare at all levels. v Ramifications in the insurance marketThe changes in societal values and expectations have steadily ratcheted up the cost of settling cases. These alarming trends are reflected in CMIC’s recent data: • Total indemnity payments increased from $19.5 million in 1995 to $50.3 million in 2001. • Average indemnity payments increased over that same time from $230,000 to $475,000. • In 1997, 9 cases were closed with payments $1 million or more. In 2002, 19 cases were closed with payments of $1 million or more. In order to provide coverage for these losses and offset its own increased costs for reinsurance, CMIC has been forced to raise premiums to levels that strain the resources of its members. v Fixing the Connecticut problemsFocusing on the general problem of run-away jury awards as well as problems peculiar to the Connecticut legal environment, CMIC proposes the following changes to the Insurance Commissioner. • Connecticut’s Offer of Judgment statute, which imposes punitive prejudgment interest of 12% per year, should be substantially revised. • Tort reform changes from the 1986 Tort Reform Act that have been defeated or curtailed in the courts, including limitations on attorneys’ fees, periodic payment of damage awards and Good Faith Certificate requirements, should be reinstated. • Awards for non-economic damages should be capped at $250,000. CMIC urges the Insurance Commissioner, the Governor and the Legislature to restore reason to our legal system and stability to the insurance markets. |