Is Internet Doctoring the Wave of the Future?

The digital doctor will see you anytime you want. Giving patients more access to health care is one reason Devon Herrick, an analyst with Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis, says doctors need to embrace technology and go online. A center study released Thursday found not only are some doctors answering questions via e-mail, they are also treating patients over the Internet. But online medicine faces a mountain of questions about quality, liability, regulatory control and security before it becomes more accepted, according to a Connecticut-based patient advocate and the executive director of the Fairfield County Medical Association. Herrick, however, expressed confidence in telemedicine’s future and said it could improve access to doctors, a big issue in the U.S. In a 2001 report by the Center for Studying Health System Change, one-third of patients said they had problems seeing their primary care physician, according to Herrick. Studies in subsequent years have shown this is a continuing problem, which is only exacerbated by higher costs and more people who have no health insurance. Herrick said one reason people have access trouble is because doctors’ hours conflict with most people’s work schedules. Services like Texas-based TelaDoc can supplement in-person medical care, he added, and his organization offers employees access to TelaDoc as one of their benefits. The TelaDoc company hires licensed doctors to provide a diagnosis after reviewing a patient’s medical history and talking to him on the telephone. It costs the patient $35 per consult. Herrick said a TelaDoc client has to enter his or her medical record into a database. The service isn’t meant to replace a primary care physician, he said, but it could help someone who is traveling get affordable care without going to an emergency room.

Please click on the link below to read the News Times article:

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_10294831

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Caps on Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases in Illinois on Trial

A lawsuit testing the constitutionality of Illinois’ medical malpractice reforms is expected to come before the state’s Supreme Court this fall — and with it the very real possibility that the law will be nixed. State Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, was one of the leaders in a long bipartisan effort to draft the legislation, which was approved after dozens of doctors fled from the Metro East area due to spiraling malpractice insurance premiums. If the law is thrown out by the courts, Haine said, the issue would wind up back in the Legislature and, depending on how the court rules, new efforts to solve the problems might be even tougher than those in the past. “It would be a long, nasty slog,” Haine said. “I’m not looking forward to it.” Arguments before the high court have not been scheduled but could come as early as next month.  At least twice before and most recently in 1997, the Supreme Court has declared laws that limit personal injury awards to be unconstitutional, partly on grounds they violate the separation of judicial and legislative powers.

Please click on the link below to read the entire STL Today article:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/5B7ED22D3EA445C8862574A9000CDB24?OpenDocument

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Measles Cases Grow in Number, and Officials Blame Parents’ Fear of Autism

More people had measles infections in the first seven months of this year than during any comparable period since 1996, and public health officials blamed growing numbers of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. Many of these parents say they believe vaccines cause autism, even though multiple studies have found no reputable evidence to support such a claim. In Britain, Switzerland, Israel and Italy, measles outbreaks have soared, sickening thousands and causing at least two deaths. From January through July, 131 measles cases were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 15 states and the District of Columbia. Fifteen people, including four infants, were hospitalized. There were no deaths. Nearly all the cases resulted when people traveling abroad or visiting from a foreign country spread the illness to others. In Illinois, 30 people were sickened in one outbreak. Most of those who were sickened were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. Sixteen were younger than a year old, too young to have been vaccinated. But two-thirds of the rest — or 63 people — were unvaccinated because of their or their parents’ philosophical or religious beliefs.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/22/health/research/22measles.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Drug to Help Blood Clot Is Approved

On Friday, federal regulators approved a biotechnology drug from Amgen that treats a rare blood-clotting disorder. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, Nplate, for patients with a disorder that causes the body to attack its own platelets, tiny components of blood that help with clotting. The condition, which can cause bruising and bleeding after minor injuries, affects about 140,000 people. Regulators said Nplate is the first drug that directly encourages platelet production by stimulating the patient’s bone marrow. The F.D.A. approved the drug based on two studies that showed that it increased patients’ platelet count over six months. Patients received weekly injections of Nplate, a genetically engineered version of the protein that encourages platelet production. “The Nplate approval is the result of 15 years of research into understanding how platelets are produced in the bone marrow,” Amgen, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., said.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/business/23amgen.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Morbid Obesity and Pregnancy – Not a Healthy Combination

The offices of Dr. Mark Chames, an obstetrician at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, are outfitted with some special equipment. The blood-pressure cuffs used on patients’ arms are actually thigh cuffs, originally designed to strap around a leg. Standard scales, which measure up to 350 pounds, have been supplemented by ones that accommodate 880 pounds. Before the new scales arrived, some patients were weighed at the hospital loading dock. After decades in which the obesity epidemic spread to every demographic group in the nation, it has also ended up here: the maternity ward. One in five women who give birth in the U.S. is obese, according to Susan Chu, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And doctors are seeing more pregnant women who are morbidly obese, weighing 400, 500, even 600 pounds. Excess weight makes pregnancy riskier: obese women are more likely to develop hypertension and diabetes, and to deliver prematurely. The need to manage their conditions, and to meet their logistical needs, is giving rise to a new medical subspecialty, what some are calling “bariatric obstetrics.” Chames, who already sees at least a dozen morbidly obese pregnant women each month, will direct his hospital’s new Center for Bariatric Obstetric Care when it opens later this summer.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/magazine/13wwln-essay-t.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Louisiana: Medical Malpractice Cap Work Lies Ahead

Louisiana’s medical malpractice cap emerged unchanged from the last legislative session as lawmakers, faced with a number of proposals, could not find a compromise that satisfied all parties. One proposal with broad support sought to increase providers’ responsibility to the first $250,000 in damages and the Patient’s Compensation Fund’s liability to $500,000. However, the proposal failed to gain traction in the Legislature. Dr. Vincent Culotta, a Metairie OB/GYN who chairs the Louisiana State Medical Society’s council on legislation, said the malpractice cap will have to be addressed. “The question is ‘where is the right number?’” Culotta said. “The cap has to exist.” Louisiana is very much in a health care crisis, he said. Some people, including the Louisiana Medical Mutual Insurance Co. (LAMMICO), would like to enact the Texas malpractice model, which caps non-economic damages at $250,000. Texas implemented the cap in 2004. The cap has reduced malpractice lawsuits and helped increase the number of physicians.

Please click on the link below to read the Louisiana Medical News article:

http://acadiana.medicalnewsinc.com/news.php?viewStory=1143

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Researchers Question Wide Use of HPV Vaccines

Two vaccines against cervical cancer are being widely used without sufficient evidence about whether they are worth their high cost or even whether they will effectively stop women from getting the disease, two articles in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine conclude. Both vaccines target the human papillomavirus, a common sexually transmitted virus that usually causes no symptoms and is cleared by the immune system, but which can in very rare cases become chronic and cause cervical cancer. The two vaccines, Gardasil by Merck Sharp & Dohme and Cervarix by GlaxoSmithKline, target two strains of the virus that together cause an estimated 70 percent of cervical cancers. Gardasil also prevents infection with two other strains that cause some proportion of genital warts. Both vaccines have become quick best sellers since they were licensed two years ago in the United States and Europe, given to tens of millions of girls and women.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/health/21vaccine.html?ref=health

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Maryland: Family Doctors Called “Scarce”

When his colleague departed in December, family doctor Charles Bennett thought he would soon find a new partner for his private practice in Lusby. But he has had no luck for the past eight months. “I’m still trying to find someone, but I don’t think it will get any better in the foreseeable future,” said Bennett, whose Calvert County practice employs four staff members. “The process is very time-consuming, and I am already very busy as it is.” Bennett’s troubles stem from the fact that the United States faces a serious shortage of family physicians, especially in rural and poorer communities. There are too few primary care doctors and nurses to meet growing health care needs, according to a report released yesterday by the National Association of Community Health Centers. The study found availability depends on location. More often than not, fewer clinicians practice in areas that need them most.

Please click on the link below to read the Baltimore Sun article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-md.doctors12aug12,0,2416897.story

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Judge Orders Drug Maker to Provide Experimental Treatment to Terminally Ill Teenager

A 16-year-old patient, terminally ill with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, should be allowed to use an experimental drug treatment despite objections from the drug’s developer, a federal judge in Newark ruled recently. The case, which touches on major ethical issues, is being closely watched by the pharmaceutical industry. Under the ruling, Jacob Gunvalson, of Gonvick, Minn., would be able to start taking a drug intended to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare and fatal disease that strikes boys and young men. The developer, PTC Therapeutics of South Plainfield, N.J., contends that Jacob does not meet the criteria to be a part of the drug’s clinical trial, and is planning to appeal. Federal regulators must also approve his application to use the drug. It was not immediately clear what implications the ruling would have for other patients seeking access to clinical trials of experimental treatments. Drug developers tightly enforce parameters on who can participate in these trials, citing concerns about safety and the validity of the research.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/business/21dystrophy.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=health&adxnnlx=1219406649-/wz7Gy5FqKhMGvYpJHlMNg

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

OB Services No Longer a Problem for Some Oklahoma Health Care Markets

Four years ago, Enid made national news because the community suddenly found itself with only two practicing obstetricians to take care of a market area that includes around 70,000 people. In the summer of 2004, physicians received a malpractice rate increase from Physicians Liability Insurance that caused many practicing obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYN) to call a halt to delivering babies. Even though high medical malpractice insurance rates continue to be a problem for physicians, the picture is much brighter today after a concerted effort by both Enid hospitals to recruit more obstetricians to Enid. Today, there are six OB-GYNs practicing at Integris Bass Baptist Health Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, as well as a number of family physicians who deliver babies. And, the baby business is good, hospital officials report. In July, Integris Bass Women’s Service Center reported a second month of record-breaking numbers at 105 for babies delivered. In December 2006, they recorded their second-highest number at 96.

Please click on the link below to read the Enid News and Eagle article:

http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_233010309.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Do You Need A Prostate Cancer Screening?

Being screened for prostate cancer probably seems like a no-brainer to most health-conscious men, given that the disease is the second-most common cancer in American men as well as the second-most deadly, affecting one in six men. But earlier this week the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of primary care experts that issues guidelines about clinical preventive services, recommended against routine prostate cancer screening for men over age 75. The group concluded there wasn’t proof that early detection was saving men’s lives and that the short-term harms outweighed the potential benefits.

Please click on the link below to read the Forbes.com article:

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2008/08/05/health-prostate-screening-forbeslife-cx_avd_0805health.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Proposed Bill Would Finalize Sunscreen Labeling Rules

Two United States senators on Friday introduced a bill that would compel the Food and Drug Administration to make final comprehensive rules on sunscreen. Last summer, the agency proposed updated rules that would standardize the labeling on sunscreens, giving consumers more detailed information about their efficacy. But the agency has not made the regulations final, which must happen before they can be implemented. Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, said the agency appeared to be moving at a deliberately slow pace for the benefit of sunscreen manufacturers. “The delay is happening for economic reasons,” Senator Dodd said. “The F.D.A. knows better. “It sounds like an industry reluctant to have a standard set because that may open the doors to insisting upon more accurate labels on certain other products as well.” The proposed Sunscreen Labeling Protection Act of 2008, sponsored by Senator Dodd and Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, would give the F.D.A. 180 days to makes its own rules final. If the agency fails to do so within 180 days of enactment of the bill, the proposed rules would take effect.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/health/policy/02sunscreen.html?ref=health

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Millions With Chronic Disease Get Little to No Treatment

Millions of Americans with chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure are not getting adequate treatment because they are among the nation’s growing ranks of uninsured. That is the central finding of a new study to be published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine.The study, the first detailed look at the health of the uninsured, estimates that about one of every three working-age adults without insurance in the United States has received a diagnosis of a chronic illness. Many of these people are forgoing doctors’ visits or relying on emergency rooms for their medical care, the study said. The report, based on an analysis of government health surveys of adults ages 18 to 64 years old, estimated that about 11 million of the 36 million people without insurance in 2004 — the latest year of the study — had received a chronic-condition diagnosis. “These are people who, with modern therapies, can be kept out of trouble,” said Dr. Andrew P. Wilper, the study’s lead author. Therapies for someone with diabetes and hypertension “are routine and widely available, if you have insurance,” said Dr. Wilper, a medical instructor at the University of Washington in Seattle. The most recent government estimate of the number of people in this country without health insurance is 47 million, which means that if the proportions found in the study have remained constant, there might be nearly 16 million people in this country with a chronic condition but no insurance to pay for medical care. Nearly a quarter of the uninsured with a chronic illness who were surveyed said they had not visited a health professional within the last year. About 7 percent said they typically went to a hospital emergency room for care.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/business/05health.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Study Finds Settling May Be Better Than Going to Trial

Note to victims of accidents, medical malpractice, broken contracts and the like: When you sue, make a deal. That is the clear lesson of a soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits that has found that most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer. “The lesson for plaintiffs is, in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant’s offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more,” said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at DecisionSet, a consulting firm that advises clients on litigation decisions. Defendants made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24 percent of cases, according to the study; plaintiffs were wrong in 61 percent of cases. In just 15 percent of cases, both sides were right to go to trial — meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered. The vast majority of cases do settle — from 80 to 92 percent by some estimates, Mr. Kiser said — and there is no way to know whether either side in those cases could have done better at trial. But the findings, based on a study of 2,054 cases that went to trial from 2002 to 2005, raise provocative questions about how lawyers and clients make decisions, the quality of legal advice and lawyers’ motives.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/business/08law.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&dbk=&adxnnlx=1218544719-ZA0Dxo7dBI+R8ujVX0PFzQ

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Mistakes to Cost Hospitals – Insurer Won’t Pay for Medical Errors called “Never Events”

In health care, the customer isn’t always right. But now Illinois patients are getting a little more clout. Signaling an industry-wide shift toward more consumer-friendly practices long common in other businesses, the state’s largest health insurer will soon begin refusing to pay for bad service. If a hospital commits a serious error—such as leaving a sponge in a patient’s chest after open-heart surgery or causing a prolonged illness by mixing up a patient’s medication—Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois says it will no longer pay the claim. The idea is that forcing hospitals to absorb those costs will create an incentive to improve quality of care in a business where money typically rolls in regardless of patient outcomes and customers often feel lost in a complex, impersonal system. Employers, consumers and taxpayers are increasingly demanding that providers of medical care be held more accountable, particularly as the costs of health insurance continue to rise. Other private insurers such as Aetna, Inc. also are moving to implement never events policies as they negotiate renewals of their contracts with hospitals. As of October, the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly—the nation’s largest payer to hospitals—will no longer pay if the government can determine that a serious medical error or a deadly infection occurred in the hospital.

Please click on the link below to read the Chicago Tribune article:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-never-events_07aug07,0,2591718.story

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Texas: Lawsuit Claims Hospital Lost Part of Man’s Skull

The emergency removal of part of Marvin Simmons’ skull saved his life when his brain was swelling during a stroke. The problem is that once it was removed, he never got it back. A lawsuit filed Wednesday in the 122nd District Court against the University of Texas Medical Branch on behalf of the 53-year-old Galveston man claims the hospital lost the 8-inch by 4-inch piece of skull and canceled three surgeries to replace it before admitting the mistake. In a statement, medical branch officials said they had not had an opportunity to review the lawsuit. “It is the goal of UTMB to provide to the highest quality of care to all of our patients at all times,” the statement said. “We have not yet had the opportunity to review the specific allegations regarding this matter, and thus are unable to comment further at this time.” Simmons had the surgery in January 2007 after a stroke. From February until October, he had to wear a helmet to protect the portion of his head where the skull piece had been, Simmons’ attorney, Tony Buzbee, said. Surgery was delayed for months until doctors told Simmons about the mistake, the lawsuit claims. When he did have surgery, doctors replaced the skull piece with a piece of titanium mesh, the lawsuit claims. Now, Simmons has a bulge an inch high on the right side of his head, Buzbee said. The skull piece was supposed to be cataloged and taken to the medical branch’s bone bank, Buzbee said.

Please click on the link below to read the Galveston County Daily News article:

http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=e05a318aac8b22bf

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Two Widely Used Infertility Treatments Fail in Study

A new study calls into question the use of two common infertility treatments for couples who have unexplained problems having children. Doctors in Scotland tested a drug that stimulates ovulation and artificial insemination against doing nothing in couples who had no obvious reasons for their inability to conceive. Among the three groups, researchers found little difference in the numbers of couples who had babies. The study was published Friday in the British Medical Journal. ”These treatments are a leap of faith,” said Dr. Siladitya Bhattacharya, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Aberdeen and the study’s lead author. ”None of the treatments studied had any significant benefit over no treatment at all.” Infertility affects about one in seven couples. Doctors usually try fertility pills or artificial insemination before moving on to more complicated and expensive techniques like in-vitro fertilization. Bhattacharya said that he and the five study centers no longer offer the two tested treatments for unexplained infertility problems.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-MED-Fertility-Methods.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Maryland: Appeal of Medical Malpractice Damage Cap on $5M Verdict Expected

A medical malpractice attorney said that he plans to appeal a judge’s reduction of a nearly $5 million jury award to $1.3 million in the case of a doctor who left a surgical sponge in a patient’s stomach after performing a hysterectomy. Victoria M. Young’s lawyer said he understands that Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ronald B. Rubin had little choice last month but to trim the jury’s award of $4.5 million in pain and suffering to $1.3 million, due to Maryland’s statutory per-claim cap of $650,000 in non-economic damages. Attorney Nathan I. Finkelstein, a partner at Finkelstein & Horvitz P.C. in Bethesda, said his dispute is with the state legislature regarding the cap, calling it an infringement on a plaintiff’s constitutional right to a jury trial. “The legislature … has stripped the people of Maryland of their rights,” said Finkelstein, adding that the U.S. Constitution leaves it to juries, not legislatures, to determine what an award should be in a given case. “We are entitled to a jury of our peers.” At trial, the jury concluded that Dr. Robert Levitt’s failure to remove the sponge and his disregard for Young’s post-surgical complaints of pain, fever and swelling amounted to pain and suffering that justified a multimillion-dollar award, well beyond the statutory maximum, Finkelstein said. In court papers filed after the jury’s verdict, Levitt’s attorney, H. Kenneth Armstrong of Armstrong, Donohue, Ceppos & Vaughan Chtd. in Rockville, called on Rubin to limit the pain-and-suffering award to the statutory maximum. Rubin reduced the jury’s pain and suffering awards in each of the two separate claims to $650,000, citing the statutory cap.

Please click on the link below to read the Maryland Daily Record article:

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=6164&type=UTTM

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

South Florida: Proton Power to “Blast” Cancer

Right now, there are only five places in the U.S. where cancer patients can get highly accurate proton therapy to zap their disease. But, in the next two or three years, South Florida could have two proton therapy centers. Proton therapy uses advanced physics and promises to be the gold standard for eradicating tumors while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. But the price tag for the machines is off the charts. Bloomington, Ind.-based ProCure Treatment Centers is looking for a site in Boca Raton or northern Broward County to build a proton therapy center that would cost more than $130 million. It would employ about 100 people at an average salary of $80,000, said Chris Chandler, ProCure senior VP of clinical partnerships. Meanwhile, public hospital system Broward Health has contracted for $13.5 million to buy a next-generation proton therapy machine that is under development. It would cost about $5 million to construct a facility for it at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, said Joseph Rogers, Broward Health’s senior VP of business development. One of the few physicians in South Florida who have had any experience handling proton beams is Dr. Anurag Agarwal, chief of radiation oncology for Broward Health. He is also CEO of HealX Oncology, the group of radiation oncologists that is partnering with the public system to boost its cancer-fighting arsenal. He treated patients with proton therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 

 

Please click on the link below to read the South Florida Business Journal article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/07/28/daily24.html?f=et81&ana=e_du

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Illinois – Doctors’ Insurance Rates Will Not Rise – Fewer Medical Malpractice Claims Credited

For the second year in a row, Illinois’ largest insurer of physicians has announced its base premium rates will not go up — the result, many say, of the state’s stabilized legal environment brought by a medical malpractice law in 2005 that capped awards for “pain and suffering.” ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co., of Chicago, announced it would not raise the base rates because of a decrease in claim frequency, as well as drops in payouts for verdicts and out-of-court settlements. Shastri Swaminathan, the president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said the stabilization of rates shows two positive trends: that the number of frivolous lawsuits is declining, and the size of awards in such cases is shrinking. “So I think the award experience and climate is getting better,” said Swaminathan, a psychiatrist who practices in downtown Chicago.

Please click on the link below to read the Belleville News-Democrat article:

http://www.bnd.com/homepage/story/422732.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.