More Tennessee Med Mal Tort Reform Possible
Side Note: In 2008, Tennessee passed legislation that required a patient to obtain a “certificate of good faith” for their medical malpractice case in order to proceed with the case. This has dramatically reduced the number of med mal cases filed in the state. Since 2008, the number of med mal lawsuits filed has dropped by 44%. And, even more good news may be on the horizon for Tennessee physicians. Gov. Bill Haslam has proposed further legislation that would place caps on non-economic damages and punitive damages in med mal cases. Under the legislation, non-economic damages, which includes pain and suffering, would be capped at $750,000 and punitive damages would be capped at $500,000. However, the bill does have some exceptions –see the article for further details.
Many theorize that because of the required “certificate of good faith” and if the damage caps take effect, it will become very difficult to sue for med mal in the state of Tennessee. In short, it could become very hard to find a lawyer willing to take a case because of the low levels of potential profits to be made. This is good news for Tennessee physicians.
We applaud Tennessee’s tort reform efforts and hope that this new legislation passes. We here at MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com will keep you posted. We firmly believe that good tort reform is needed in every state and that physicians benefit by facing fewer med mal lawsuits, and often, lower med mal policy costs –not to mention a less threatening practice environment and a decrease in defensive medicine practices.
Would you like to see if we could lower your Tennessee med mal policy rates? If so, complete our quote request form today.
Malpractice suits face new barriers
Apr. 24, 2011
From www.tennessean.com
Savatri Cole had surgery for a broken ankle and ended up losing her foot because of a bone infection.
She and her husband, Jeffrey Cole, believe she got the infection in Southern Hills Medical Center. The surgeon and the hospital contend that the infection occurred because she ripped open surgical wounds by walking on the foot too soon.
