MSDC Letter to the Editor:The Verdict: The DC Medical Liability System Needs Immediate Reform

On Friday, June 2, 2006, The Washington Times printed the following letter submitted by MSDC Chairman Peter E. Lavine, MD:

The recent May 11, 2006, Washington Times article, “Many Medical Suits Lack Merit,” highlights the New England Journal of Medicine article by David Studdert et al from the prestigious Harvard School of Public Health “Claims, Errors, and Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation.” This article points to another study that confirms that the medical liability system is broken and in need of a complete overhaul. 

This study showed that 40% of medical malpractice filed are groundless, showing no evidence that a medical error was committed or that the patient suffered any injury.  These cases represent expensive “fishing expeditions” by trial attorneys that drive up the cost of medical liability insurance.  The reason this abuse exists, is that a quarter of the frivolous groundless claims were settled at a cost of $313,000.

In another famous Harvard study, by Paul Wieler et al, “A Measure of Malpractice: Medical Injury, Malpractice Litigation & Patient Compensation” 140 – Harvard University Press, showed that it is the severity of the injuries to the patient that determines the amount of the award and not any evidence of negligence. Basically, any bad outcome is blamed on the provider even though there is no proof anyone caused the injury. This is why so few medical malpractice cases result in sanctions against the medical provider

These studies are further supported by a 2003 Health and Human Services (HHS) study and another 2003 study by the GAO report that showed that the medical liability crisis adds billions to the cost of health care, resulting in higher premiums, higher costs to businesses providing health care and higher medical costs to patients.  HHS reported that reasonable limits on non-economic damages would reduce the amount of taxpayer cost to the federal government by $50.6 billion per year. 

In the current system, less than 30% of all money generated through medical liability premiums goes to compensate the injured party.  The remaining 70% goes to legal fees, lawyers (defense and plaintiff), expert witness fees, court costs, administrative costs and so on.  These costs are eventually passed on to the public in terms of higher costs for health care. The result is a loss of precious health care dollars which would otherwise be spent in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

The District of Columbia is one of the worst jurisdictions in the country for the medical liability crisis.  Doctors continue to flee the city for the surrounding suburbs, decreasing access to health care for DC residents and destroying one of the most vibrant industries in the city.  Fortunately, the argument has shifted from the acknowledgement of the crisis to finding solutions.  To address this crisis, there are three bills in front of the City Council, one of which was presented by the Mayor.

The only way to solve the medical liability crisis is a balanced approach of patient safety measures, insurance reform and a critical package of tort reforms.  The costs of this crisis is the loss of access to doctors, loss of jobs, and the squandering of millions of health care dollars that could be used to treat patients. This balanced approach has worked across the country in states like Texas, California, Louisiana, and Indiana.

It will take tremendous leadership by our City Council to stand up to the powerful, wealthy, and politically savvy trial bar.  We must choose the health care of all DC residents over the special interests of a few, and pass meaningful reform.