Connecticut Legislature considers limits to Medical Malpractice Claims.

The rising costs of medical malpractice is putting the heat on the Connecticut politicians. A proposal to trim rising medical malpractice insurance costs is on its way to the legislature for a vote.

For the past two years trial lawyers have paraded the victims of botched medical procedures before state lawmakers in an effort to stop the march toward caps on medical malpractice awards. Friday, one of the most powerful committees in the legislature passed a bill to address the problem and it appears the lawyers have. A bill approved yesterday by the Judiciary Committee calls for would-be plaintiffs to first get an expert medical opinion supporting the complaint of malpractice before filing a lawsuit. The purpose is to discourage frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits.

It also cuts the interest rate on settlements structured over time from 12 percent to eight percent and takes other steps to reduce risks and costs for medical professionals.

A spokesman for Governor Rell says the governor will examine the proposal before deciding whether to support it. She said in February that medical malpractice reform in Connecticut would be one of her key issues this year.

Last year many doctors faced malpractice insurance premium increases of 90 percent. The medical society says it has forced many Connecticut doctors to stop doing high risk procedures, making it more difficult for you to find the surgeon or other specialist you may need.

Two years ago hundreds of doctors marched on the capitol urging the state to impose a $250,000 cap on medical malpractice court settlements. Then governor John Rowland endorsed the idea, but it went nowhere.

Friday, dozens of lobbyists waited as lawmakers met behind closed doors to finalize a bill to address the issue. But what emerged from the committee in public will contain no cap of any kind.

The insurance companies say that means the bill is meaningless.
"Without meaningful restraints on non-economic damages you're not going to solve the problem," says Jay Jackson from Connecticut Medical Insurance Company.

One amendment would prohibit confidential settlement agreements between patients and doctors, an idea aimed at exposing doctors who make too many mistakes.

According to the National Practitioners Database more than half the nation's malpractice cases are committed by just five percent of the doctors.
"I think it's a good idea for the public to know if there are physicians or people practicing medicine out there who are consistently running afoul of the proper practices," says Jay Malcynsky of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.
But the doctors say that's a bad idea because out of court settlements help keep the price down.

"What you'll do is further put a strain on the tort system by not providing a vehicle that people use to, quite often, settle cases early on and keep them out of the court system," says Ken Ferrucci of the Connecticut State Medical Society.
Another part of the plan will require the insurance companies to get prior approval from the state insurance department if their rates are going up more than five percent. The medical association says that could scare the few remaining insurance companies away from the state, making things worse.
The bill now moves on to the House and Senate.