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With New Jersey facing a worsening shortage of physicians, key medical and business groups say it's time for the Legislature and Gov. Christie's to take action on medical malpractice reform.
Proponents of reform, such as the New Jersey Lawsuit Reform Alliance and the New Jersey Hospital Association, are stepping up their lobbying, according to an article at NJSpotlight.com. They blame the current laws with for skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums, forcing doctors out of the state. And they claim that New Jersey's largest employer, pharmaceutical companies, are plagued because they are often named in malpractice lawsuits filed in the state.
But the state' trial lawyer association claims that there's no need for reform, and that the number of medical malpractice suits has dropped 45 percent in the last 14 years.
The problem, the attorneys argue, is medical malpractice, and the medical community must take steps to prevent errors by doctors, nurses and hospitals.
— NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
- get more of the indemnity to the injured . They only get 40% of the cases total cost. 60% go to fees. Sliding fees for attorneys.
- mandatory insurance for docs, you need it to drive! No policy / no patients.
- Cap on pain and suffering awards, you pick the amount. You cant measure nor weigh pain by $'s. A subjective concept with an objective fix ($) .
- Loser of the case pays the costs of the other party. Many ideas exist here.
- Structured settlements for all settlements over $500k- it helps everyone.
- Presuit affidavits from experts re liability, causation and damages. mandatory mediations.
- Arbitration - a jury of peers. Still your day in court, just a different forum.
- In court, a jury of peers , docs intentionally don't get them, how about a minimum of a bachelor degree to sit for med mal. Would you want your career decided by a few people that have seen House and ER a few times ?
I could go on and on. The truth is nobody really wants to fix this, too much money involved. Most of the thousand cases that I have settled since 1985 have some element of fatigue, poor communication, especially at shift changes, and /or poor staffing. Pay the money to nurses and get more of them and the number of claims will decrease.
One last thing med mal has nothing to do with the cost of Healthcare. Repeal McCarron ferguson . Give me access to all 1500 healthcare carriers in the US. Let them compete for my buck.
Lets see- you pay a large premium, you have a large deductible to meet before they pay and then a co-pay. So what do they get to pay? Sweet deal.
regards Jim O'Hare VP claims PIC pompano fl
It might surprise you to know that New Jersey has the 7th highest number of doctors in patient care per capita of the 50 states. The national average is 25.3 doctors in patient care per 10,000 people. New Jersey has 30.1. New Jersey is way ahead of the curve in that respect.
Duh
Talk about the roosters guarding the hen house.
How's this for tort reform; cap attorney fees at $250,000 - why should they get 30% of big awards when they weren't the harmed parties?