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$53 Million to Defend Doctors Dropped from Lawsuits
BOARDMAN, Ohio -- Area physicians and their insurance companies spent as much as $53 million over three years to defend medical malpractice claims that were dismissed, accordingly to new research.The research, commissioned by the Tri-County Physicians for Patients' Rights, was conducted by a local law firm in May to determine how many medical malpractice cases filed in a four-year period -- from 2000 through 2003 -- were dismissed because they were found to be without merit. The research also revealed how many doctors practicing in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties were dropped from cases because the plaintiffs said they should not have been sued in the first place. "We wanted to do the research to validate that non-meritorious suits are needlessly wasting money and driving up insurance premiums right here in the Valley." said Marc Saunders, a surgeon and president of the Mahoning County Medical Society, "Doctors are leaving the area because they can't afford to practice here." Saunders referred to data researched at the Mahoning County Courthouse that showed nearly 40% of all malpractice cases filed between 2000 and 2003 were dismissed because they were found to be non-meritorious. Thirty percent of all doctors named in the cases filed in that same period were dropped as defendants in the cases by the plaintiffs. According to data from the Ohio Department of Insurance, average court costs and other fees are roughly $20,000 per doctor named in a medical malpractice lawsuit."In these types of lawsuits, sometimes called 'shotgun' lawsuits," Saunders said, "doctors are sued who should have never been named in the suit. The problem is they are included because the necessary mechanisms or processes aren't in place in the legal system to filter them out before a lawsuit is filed." In 2002, 173 medical malpractice cases were filed and 67 of those cases, or 40%, were dismissed. A total of 249 physicians were dropped from those cases, which resulted in unnecessary court costs and legal fees amounting to $5 million, the research shows.In Mahoning County alone, over four years -- from 2000 through 2003 -- roughly $23 million was spent in legal fees to defend medical malpractice cases that were dismissed because they were without merit. The figures for Trumbull and Columbiana counties are estimated to be approximately $20 million and $10 million, respectively, numbers extrapolated based on the relative populations of the three counties. Although plaintiff attorneys argue that a longer statute of limitations for factual discovery would help to limit the numbers of physicians named in medical malpractice cases, the research shows that about 65% of doctors named as long ago as 2000 are still defendants in these malpractice cases and have not yet been released. This serves to drive up medical malpractice premiums and the costs of health care in the tri-county area. Tri-County Physicians for Patients Rights created the Where Does It Hurt? campaign to raise awareness that abuse of malpractice law is driving competent doctors away from the Mahoning Valley. The patient education component of the campaign was kicked off recently with 35,000 brochures and 500 posters delivered to more than 650 doctors in the three-county area. Medical practices and health care facilities are displaying the posters and brochures to alert patients that access to health care in the Mahoning Valley is a real and growing threat. Since the campaign was launched in April, five more doctors have closed their practices, relocated or stopped doing certain procedures. Since 2000, 35 have closed their practices or left the area due to the high cost of medical malpractice insurance.Tri-County Physicians for Patients' Rights is made up of members of the Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana County Medical Societies and other interested physicians and health care providers. The Business Journal recently published a roundtable discussion on the medical malpractice insurance crisis. READ ROUNDTABLE at DoctorsAfflictedwithInsuranceCrisis.aspVisit Tri-County Physicians for Patients Rights at www.wheredoesithurt.org"