North Carolina Attorneys and the NC Hospital Association
disagree on the impact of medical malpractice

February 15, 2005

Recently the The president of the North Carolina Hospital Association quit the N.C. Bar Association, when the association concluded that medical malpractice lawsuits in the sate where not a serious problem. He is requesting that others do the same.

NCHA President Bill Pully also encouraged hospital executives to talk with their attorneys about this volatile issue. In quiting the association he is concerned they may not be able to adequately represent a hospital while remaining members of the bar association, hospital association president Don Dalton said Monday. See North Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawyer Directory.

G. Gray Wilson, the bar association president, said the organization will be better equipped to act as a forum for both sides of the malpractice issue if hospital attorneys stay involved.

The malpractice issue debate has become more intense in recent years. Organizations like the hospital association say frivolous lawsuits increase the cost of medical malpractice insurance rates.

The N.C. Bar Association assigned a task force in 2003 to study whether malpractice lawsuits limit access to affordable, quality health care in the state.

The task force report concluded that some malpractice insurance is prohibitively expensive. The report also said there was insufficient evidence that legal reforms would cut insurance costs.

The bar association is the largest and first legal group in the state, but is different from the N.C. State Bar, a mandatory licensing and regulation organization for all attorneys in the state.