And another thing . . .
A wrong-headed prescription. The backlash against rising malpractice insurance premiums turned ugly at this week’s American Medical Association meeting. One doctor proposed that his colleagues refuse to treat trial lawyers. Others said they’ve already stopped accepting attorneys and anyone affiliated with them. A hospital fired a nurse who is married to a lawyer. This stethoscope strike is not only unethical but it treats all malpractice cases as unwarranted.
According to independent analyses, insurance companies are also culpable for this mess. They are trying to recoup investment losses and don’t offer lower rates to doctors who’ve never been found liable for malpractice. Why not dump them as patients? And the medical profession itself has been slow to crack down on bad doctors, whose repeated errors are the cause of many malpractice awards.
At the behest of the medical community, the Florida Legislature last year placed a cap on jury awards for non-economic damages, but doctors say premiums are still too high. Kicking trial lawyers out of the waiting room won’t change that.