You mention (see Dec. 2) the week in early November during which Connecticut juries in three cases rendered medical malpractice verdicts of $1.13 million, $2.2 million, and $10 million. In at least two of these suits there had already been settlements or awards from other defendants. In the case of the $10 million verdict, other defendants had already settled out of court for a reported $3 million. The remaining defendant, who was no longer the patient’s physician at the time of the incident, had a policy limit of $1 million. The plaintiff's attorney is now exploring options for collection of the remaining $9 million.
Although the details of the case differ widely among newspaper accounts, it has been reported that the defendant's insurance company refused settlement, citing what it viewed as the absence of negligence on the part of the physician. The Connecticut Law Tribune quotes the attorney as saying, "the insurance company was so greedy [that it] never offered a red cent…" and "It's mind boggling that this insurance company -- run by doctors, which may be the first mistake -- forced both the plaintiffs and the defendant to go through the agony of a trial." In other words, a defendant has no right to adjudication, even though suits against physicians result in a defense verdict 80 percent of the time!
If the above referenced physician's personal assets are disgorged, shock waves will be sent through the medical community. Currently most physicians have insurance limits of $1 million, as higher limits are seen as unaffordable and often unobtainable. If these limits do not satiate the avarice of the litigation industry and personal financial ruin becomes a real threat, the exodus of physicians from Connecticut will accelerate. Why miss important milestones in a child’s upbringing -- a first football game or a first acting role in a play -- only to learn that with all the sacrifice you can no longer protect your family?
-- Leonard Ferrucci, New Canaan, CT
Posted by Walter Olson at December 14, 2003 09:32 AM