The Connecticut Supreme Court recently determined that the executive order by Gov. Ned Lamont granting medical professionals and healthcare facilities immunity from any medical malpractice actions related to care delivered during the state’s COVID-19 response did not apply in two medical malpractice cases. The first case, Mills v. Hartford HealthCare, involved the alleged wrongful death […]

A nationwide examination of disciplinary actions taken by state medical boards between 2019 and 2021 concluded that Michigan disciplined physician misconduct at a higher rate than any other state. Determined by the annual average number of “serious disciplinary actions” taken by each state’s medical board per 1,000 licensed physicians, Ohio ranked second, North Dakota third […]

The Florida Supreme Court last month amended the state’s rules of appellate procedure “to provide for interlocutory review of nonfinal orders that deny a motion dismiss on the basis of the qualifications of a corroborating witness.” Prior to the rule change, medical malpractice defendants had to wait until the conclusion of their trial before appealing […]

side note: This is our annual write-up of all that happened at this year’s Medical Professional Liability Industry’s largest conference. What happens here drives changes to the medical malpractice insurance environment over the next 365 days. The Annual Conference of the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) Association took place at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, […]

In March of this year, the New Mexico Legislature passed a bipartisan update to the state’s Medical Malpractice Act just days before the end of the 2023 session. This move prevented a potential medical liability insurance crisis. Senate Bill 523, a compromise between trial lawyers and healthcare professionals, establishes a $1 million cap on medical […]

The Alaska Supreme Court overturned a long-standing law that limited damage awards for medical malpractice cases where claimants had received compensation from a collateral source, such as a health insurer. This landmark ruling, which challenges the fairness of double deduction rules in malpractice cases, has significant implications for healthcare providers and claimants alike. Here’s our […]

Stakeholders in the decades-long battle over California’s noneconomic damages cap for medical liability jury verdicts announced they have reached a compromise between healthcare, legal and consumer advocates on legislation to modernize the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). Signed into law in 1975, MICRA established a $250,000 cap on medical malpractice awards for things like […]

The 2022 Q3 #1 State Update can be found here. Missouri Considers Shrinking its Personal Injury Statute of Limitations Legislators in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly are currently debating bills to shrink the state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five to two years. Only Maine and South Dakota have longer […]

A growing number of state medical boards have been pushing back against the minority of healthcare professionals spreading dangerous COVID-19 disinformation and prescribing unproven coronavirus treatments. They are increasingly meeting resistance from conservative lawmakers. “Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension […]