The Detroit News Endorses Special Health Courts The Detroit News, October 28, 2004 Ten years ago, Michigan imposed a cap of $350,000 on "non-economic damages in civil liability cases," but "the number of malpractice claims per 1,000 doctors in Michigan ... remains the highest in the nation."
As physicians flee the city, The Detroit News is calling for special health courts to stop the malpractice crisis and preserve access to health care: "A more fundamental reform that will protect doctors from bogus suits without treading on the rights of injured patients involves creating special health courts in which judges, not juries, would decide what constitutes the proper standard of care. The idea is gaining increasing bipartisan support at the federal level. But states ought to consider setting up such courts as well."
A special health court is the centerpiece of Common Good's efforts to create a reliable system of medical justice--one that more rapidly and reliably compensates injured patients, while protecting good doctors who act reasonably. The idea has been endorsed by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the Democratic Leadership Council.
The Detroit News reports that the flood of lawsuits against physicians throughout Michigan has led to dramatic increases in malpractice liability insurance premiums:
According the American Physicians Assurance Corporation, a company which provides medical malpractice insurance to about 20 percent of physicians in Michigan, it faces about $10,423 in expenses even in those cases in which a doctor is not found at fault. That's a 40 percent increase from four years ago. ...
The editorial concludes:
Michigan has led the nation in implementing legal reforms to fix the medical malpractice system. The flight of doctors from Wayne County [Detroit] shows that more remains to be done. Anything less will consign Wayne County patients to second-class care.
This editorial is no longer available on-line.
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