Posts Tagged ‘“medical malpractice”’
Surprise Medical Bills Are Back in the Spotlight as an Unfair Practice
Because we represent clients in personal injury and medical malpractice cases, we know medical bills are a huge stress. Many people leave the hospital and actually feel worse, anticipating all the medical bills.
In most cases, you can ask your health insurance provider to pay and they will at least cover a portion. Except if you receive a bill for an “out-of-network” doctor or hospital. These are “surprise medical bills,” often incurred during emergencies, when patients may not have a choice about where to receive care. You can also get hit with these bills if an out-of-network physician treats you as part of your care at an in-network hospital or medical office.
This is a stressful situation for anyone. Not only is a patient asked to pay the medical bill, they are often charged more than an insurance company, with all its resources, would ever pay. Which isn’t at all fair.
What can be done? Gov. Charlie Baker is working to prohibit surprise medical bills as part of the health care bill he introduced in January. Federal lawmakers have also made two proposals.
Massachusetts Legislation on Surprise Medical Bills
Patients have been left bruised and aching by surprise medical bills in Massachusetts. We saw a small glimpse in March 2019, when The Boston Globe reported patients filed 115 complaints over two years about surprise medical bills.
As a result, the attorney general’s office found patients were being treated in either a physician’s office or urgent care center. But it was the parent company which sent the bill. Partners Health Care and its hospitals settled with the AG over this practice and should have changed practices to better inform patients.
In 2019, Massachusetts lawmakers proposed B.967. This legislation would require patients to provide specific consent to receive out-of-network health care service. Providers would no longer be able to bill consumers for more than in-network cost-sharing. Gov. Charlie Baker has also included the measure in his health care legislation proposed in January.
Federal Legislation on Surprise Medical Bills
Meanwhile, we saw surprise medical bills come in Congress last week. On Feb. 11th, the House Education and Labor Committee approved a bill to protect patients from surprise medical bills. This was a bipartisan vote, split 32-13 to send the measure to the full House of Representatives. Rather than overcharge a patient who is out-of-network, the bill would set payment for surprise medical bills based on the median amount for the geographic area.
The House Ways and Means Committee is working on different legislation. The approach is to bring in an outside arbitrator to make payment decisions. Hospitals and physician groups have supported this bill, but others say it risks driving up health-care premiums.
Tips for Protecting Your Wallet When Receiving Medical Care in Massachusetts
Here are our suggestions to help you protect against unsafe medical billing and care:
Always use electronic medical record systems. Request access at your primary care physician’s office and at any doctor you see.
Massachusetts Patient’s Bill of Rights. M.G.L. c. 111, § 70E details the Massachusetts Patient’s Bill of Rights. This law states you have the right to inspect your medical records and the right to make decisions about privacy in your medical care.
Request an estimate for your medical procedure. While you cannot plan for every emergency, in Massachusetts, you have the right to ask, “How much does that cost?” before many procedures. You have this right because Massachusetts passed a health pricing transparency law in 2015. You can now request estimates from several doctors and decide where you want to be treated based on costs, ratings, online patient reviews and travel time from your home.
Under M.G.L. c. 111, § 228, you can request pricing from a doctor, health care provider or hospital. They must provide you with the following: how much the health care provider will be paid by an insurance carrier or what the charge will be if you self-pay or have an out-of-network service. Health care providers are given two business days to provide the information.
When doctors and hospitals cannot provide specific pricing, they must provide you with an estimated maximum charge.
You can ask the health provider directly. If you have health insurance, you can ask the company for assistance if you think it will be beneficial. We suggest that you request the price on your own first.
Some medical providers have online forms you can easily fill out and these provide examples of what information you may need. For example, while it’s helpful to have your surgery scheduled for a certain date and time, it’s not required when you request an estimate. Here is one example from Massachusetts General Hospital website.
About Breakstone, White & Gluck – Boston Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Breakstone, White & Gluck has over 100 years combined experience representing those injured by medical malpractice an surgical errors in Massachusetts. If you have been injured by someone else’s negligence, learn your legal rights for seeking financial compensation at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676. You can also use our contact form.
Breakstone, White & Gluck Recognized by Best Lawyers in America© 2019
Left to right: Attorney Ronald E. Gluck, Attorney Marc L. Breakstone and Attorney David W. White have been recognized by Best Lawyers in America© 2019.
Breakstone, White & Gluck announces that our partners have been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2019. Best Lawyers© is the oldest and most respected attorney ranking service in the world, providing a resource for those searching for legal services for more than 30 years. It ranks lawyers in partnership with U.S. News & World Report and other media partners.
Best Lawyers© compiles its annual list of attorneys based on a peer-review process. Nominations can be submitted online by members of the public, clients and other attorneys. But attorneys alone provide evaluations. Nearly 87,000 lawyers around the world are eligible to participate. For the ninth year, lawyers in the Boston region chose to rank Breakstone, White & Gluck. Our rankings:
Attorney Marc L. Breakstone was selected for inclusion in the fields of Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Professional Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs.
Attorney David W. White was selected for inclusion in the fields of Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs.
Attorney Ronald E. Gluck was selected for inclusion in the field of Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs.
About Breakstone, White & Gluck
Founded in 1992, Breakstone, White & Gluck has been widely recognized for our work representing clients in personal injury, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases. We bring more than 100 years combined experience to clients who have been injured by the negligence or wrongdoing of others. At the same time, we are committed to reducing injuries through our Project KidSafe campaign and by advocating for the rights of accident victims. Our attorneys have held leadership roles at statewide legal associations, including the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.
In addition to Best Lawyers©, our attorneys have been recognized on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list, along with the Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Top 100 New England Super Lawyers. Our partners have each received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. This is the highest professional and ethical rating available for lawyers.
Personal Injury
Breakstone, White & Gluck represents those injured in all types of personal injury cases, with a commitment to provide our clients with aggressive representation and experienced, expert investigation. Our attorneys represent those injured in car accidents, commercial truck crashes, bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents. Following bus and subway crashes, we have brought claims against the MBTA, winning at trial and appeal to the state’s highest court. We have specialized experience handling product liability, premises liability and construction accident cases. We work for the best financial result for our clients. When other attorneys may settle for unfair offers, we are committed to pursuing a just result at trial and appeal if necessary.
Medical Malpractice
Our lawyers are known across New England for our work standing up for clients who have been injured or killed by medical malpractice. Our attorneys offer extensive medical malpractice experience over 30 years, from surgical malpractice to paramedic malpractice, failure to diagnose and medication errors. We handled one of the most devastating cases of medical malpractice in the Boston area, representing the patient left behind when a surgeon at Mount Auburn Hospital left the operating room to cash a check. No one expects to step into a hospital and be injured as a result of medical negligence. When an accident happens, we know victims and their families struggle with heavy emotions and questions. Our attorneys are dedicated to fighting for the rights of medical malpractice victims.
Boston Personal Injury Lawyer – Free Legal Consultation
If you have been injured by wrongdoing or negligence, learn your rights. For a free legal consultation, contact Breakstone, White & Gluck at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.
Medical Mistakes and Medication Errors at Massachusetts and Rhode Island Hospitals
Patients should be aware of medical errors at Rhode Island and Massachusetts hospitals before they book their next procedure.
When you visit a hospital, you expect to be treated, then leave on your way to recovery. But two recent stories out of Massachusetts and Rhode Island should raise concern among patients. As medical malpractice lawyers, we hear about these stories too often, but the general public is not always informed.
When you book your next medical appointment or surgery, we urge to remember that any type of medical treatment is serious. Please take time to ask questions, even if you have to make an extra appointment with your doctor.
When you are admitted to the hospital for a day or overnight procedure, it is good practice to bring a relative or friend, someone who is familiar with your procedure and can ask nurses and doctors if something looks off-track. Have them carry a list of the medications you take daily in a notebook and show it to nurses.
Have this person stay with you. If you are parent, stay with your child. You may have visited a hospital in the past for treatment and had a good experience, but medical mistakes and medication errors can still happen, especially in the summer. Each July, a new round of medical students head to hospitals to become interns. Meanwhile, like many of us, doctors and surgeons often take vacations. Make sure you understand who will be treating you before you arrive at the hospital. If your health allows, consider delaying your procedure a couple of months.
Rhode Island Hospital Medical Errors
On June 8, the state Department of Health announced it had entered into a consent agreement with Rhode Island Hospital, requiring the medical system to invest $1 million into patient safety initiatives following medical errors made in February and March. The hospital made errors in treating four patients.
In February, two patients underwent surgical procedures intended for someone else. In one case, a patient was mistakenly treated with a computed tomography angiography of the brain and neck. Meanwhile, another patient underwent an angiogram meant for someone else.
March brought more patient mix-ups and medical errors. On March 12, a patient underwent a spinal procedure on the wrong part of the spine. A few days later, the wrong patient received a mammogram.
Rhode Island Hospital has agreed to implement the recommendations of the Joint Commission, the national hospital accrediting body, and put new procedures in place. It also agreed to conduct faculty-wide training on patient identification and implementing procedures. An external compliance organization will provide monitoring and oversight for at least one year.
Boston Children’s Hospital Medication Errors
In Massachusetts, Boston Children’s Hospital has come under scrutiny for medication errors. A state and federal inspection report released this spring found three patients received the wrong medication last year and one died as a result.
The medication errors involved the antibiotic Zosyn and anesthetic Propofol. A nurse administered the Zosyn to a patient more than 12 hours too late. The patient developed an infection and died two days later. The two other patients were given overdoses of the Propofol. After the first overdose, hospital leaders proposed establishing new procedures for measuring doses, but no action was taken. Ten months later, another patient suffered an overdose.
In 2016, there were 47 medication errors that killed or seriously harmed patients at Massachusetts hospitals (Source: Boston Globe).
If You Have Been Injured by a Medication Error or Other Medical Mistake
Medical mistakes and medication errors are preventable. Doctors and hospitals have a responsibility to have procedures in place to prevent mistakes which could harm patients or cost them their lives.
Medication errors are common, even more so than shown by state data which only tracks the most serious errors. When someone dies unexpectedly in a hospital, it is critical to contact an experienced Boston medication malpractice lawyer who can investigate what happened and look at every step of treatment and the full medical records.
At Breakstone, White & Gluck, our lawyers specialize in handling medical malpractice claims on behalf of victims and their families. Our lawyers have been consistently recognized by Super Lawyers and U.S. News-Best Lawyers for our work in the area of medical malpractice.
For a free legal consultation, contact us today at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.
Protect Yourself
If you are about to have a procedure, take advantage of the Internet. Patients now have a wealth of information available to them online. To learn more about patient safety, read this blog.
Massachusetts Health Care Consumers and Patients Have Legal Rights
As The Boston Globe continues to report on the unsafe practice of concurrent surgeries, we want to remind patients and health care consumers that you have legal rights when you seek medical treatment.
In 2015, The Boston Globe Spotlight Team reported on the practice of concurrent, overlapping surgeries at hospitals in Massachusetts and across the country. Concurrent surgery occurs when a surgeon has one patient still in surgery and starts a procedure on another patient. Patients were not informed of the practice.
This month, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee urged hospitals to clearly prohibit the practice.
Whether you have surgery planned or not, now is a good time to review your legal rights as a Massachusetts patient.
Research your doctor online. In Massachusetts, you can research your doctor’s professional history in the Physician’s Profile database on the Massachusetts Board of Registration’s website. This database will answer questions such as:
- How long the physician has been licensed in Massachusetts.
- Whether the physician has made a medical malpractice payment in the past 10 years.
- Whether the physician has had any criminal convictions in the past 10 years.
- Whether the physician has been subject to hospital or board discipline.
To learn more, we invite you to read our article: “Do You Know Your Doctor’s Safety Record? Find Out Now.”
Massachusetts Patients’ Bill of Rights. Massachusetts General Law c. 111, Sec. 70E details the Patients’ Bill of Rights. As a patient, your rights include the right to participate in the development and implementation of your plan of care and to have a patient advocate with you during treatment. If you are having surgery, we encourage you to bring a patient advocate to take notes and assert your patient rights when needed.
To learn more, we invite you to read our article: “Preventing Medical Errors.”
Your Right to Your Medical Records. Under Massachusetts Law, you have a right to your medical records. Many physicians’ offices will now provide these records online. If you are treated at a hospital, look for the hospital’s website page for its medical records or health information office. This page will explain the rules for requesting medical records and fees charged.
To learn more, we invite you to read our article: “Getting Your Medical Records.”
Concurrent Surgeries. If you are having surgery, you have the right to ask the hospital or medical facility if it uses the practice of concurrent surgeries and if you will be treated by a physician who is responsible for one or more surgeries at the same time.
About Breakstone, White & Gluck
The Boston medical malpractice lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck have over 100 years combined experience handling personal injury and medical malpractice cases at Massachusetts hospitals. Our lawyers have obtained multi-million dollar settlements for patients who have been seriously injured or killed by surgical malpractice and medical errors.
If you have been injured, it is important to learn your rights. For a free legal consultation, contact us at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.
Communication Errors in Medicine Can Have Deadly Effects
Poor communication between doctors and hospital staff hurts patients and causes many deaths, a new study reports. Electronic medical records should improve communication, but doctors are not always reading results.
Communication failures played a role in 30 percent of the medical malpractice cases examined by CRISCO Strategies of Boston. The study was released Monday.
The study reports on roughly a third of all paid medical malpractice claims nationwide, nearly 24,000 cases from 2009 to 2013. Over 7,000 cases involved communication failures which injured patients, including 1,744 resulting in wrongful death.
“Good communication in the medical record or in verbal reports is the hallmark of good medical care. We have seen many preventable deaths and serious injury cases that were the result of communication breakdowns,” Attorney Marc L. Breakstone said.
When Medical Mistakes May Happen
Electronic medical records may get doctors test results more promptly, but the study shows some are not reading them:
- One woman’s cancer diagnosis was delayed for a full year. Her primary care doctor never read the lab result in her electronic medical record.
- A patient was rushed to the emergency room and died after his lungs filled with blood. Less than two weeks earlier, his primary care doctor had referred him to a lung doctor. The two doctors failed to communicate about the lab results on the patient’s electronic medical record, which showed possible early congestive heart failure.
Many mistakes – 80 percent – happen as a result of miscommunication when doctors and medical staff transfer patient cases, according to the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare.
Across the country, 32 hospitals are trying to improve communication by adopting the I-PASS approach for how doctors and nurses communicate during shift changes, according to the medical publication STAT. One of these hospitals is Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
What Patients Can Take Away from This Study
Monitor Your Medical Records. If you have the option, monitor your medical records online. You will gain a better understanding of how your doctor and the medical practice approach your care. If you find a mistake, ask for a correction. On the other hand, if you do not have electronic access, remember you have the right to make a written request for medical records at any time.
When Shifts Change. Before the day of a surgery, ask when the surgeons and nurses change shifts. Ask what to expect if your procedure is delayed.
Patient Advocate. Bring someone you trust to your pre-operation appointment and to your procedure. Our article about the Massachusetts Patient’s Bill of Rights may be a helpful resource.
Research Online. Research if your doctor or surgeon has been disciplined or has paid medical malpractice claims in the Massachusetts Board of Registration database. You can also search Medicare’s Hospital Compare database for hospital information, ratings and practices.
Make Your Own Decision. Online databases and electronic medical records are important but make your own decision about your doctor’s communication. Observe their practices firsthand, ask questions and choose another doctor if you are concerned.
Health Care Costs Rising, But Still No Website for Massachusetts Consumers to Compare Provider Costs
State officials have not lived up to mandates to maintain a website for consumers to compare pricing for medical procedures and doctor’s visits.
The Boston Globe detailed the problems with the website development this week. Meanwhile, the state’s Health Policy Commission recently released its “2015 Cost Trends Report.” The report noted less competition is driving rising health care costs, not higher quality care or other common measures of value.
Attorney David White, consumer advocate, said, “It is unfortunate that the Commonwealth is failing to get basic information to consumers. Health care costs vary so significantly from provider to provider. Consumers need every bit of help they can get to reduce the costs of care.”
White also said, “A very serious issue is how steeply costs vary between facilities for the same procedures. The report demonstrates that the fancy, expensive hospitals do not, on average, deliver significantly better care.”
The Website
The state’s health care reform law of 2006 required a website be established to inform the public about health care cost and quality of care. The website was also included in 2012 legislation. While there have been websites launched, no website is currently available.
As a result, consumers have no central resource to research the costs of a medical procedure or a doctor’s visit at different medical facilities. Pricing cannot be a factor in their decision-making process. The state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis is still deciding what information to include in the website, The Globe reported.
What Consumers Can Do
Many consumers can access some pricing information through websites developed by their health care plans. Contact your health insurance company by telephone if you cannot find your plan’s site. Insurers were required to launch websites by the state, but only members can access these databases, which may be limited. Even the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans supports a state-run website to validate the information.
Consumers should also be able to contact a hospital or doctor’s office and request pricing in advance. This will take longer than simply searching a website, but it may be worth your time if you are scheduling a medical procedure or tests. Prices and the quality of care vary widely. For example, maternity care for low-risk pregnancies can cost $9,722 some hospitals compared to $18,500 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
“You have the right to find out what your procedures will cost,” Attorney White said. “Be an advocate for yourself: Ask to see the price list that the doctors and hospitals are required to provide.”
Read more in the “2015 Cost Trends Report” and The Boston Globe.
Guidelines Being Considered for “Double-Booked” Surgeries
The American College of Surgeons will consider new guidelines for the practice of concurrent or “double-booked” surgeries after a Boston Globe Spotlight Team report this fall.
The Spotlight Team found many surgeons in Boston and across the country are performing in two operations that overlap in part or their entirety, without the patient’s knowledge or consent. In some cases, doctors have even traveled back and forth to surgeries at different hospitals, leaving patients to wait under anesthesia.
“Patient safety is paramount,” said attorney Marc Breakstone, who has represented clients injured by medical malpractice for 30 years. “It is fundamental that patients have a right to be informed who is performing their surgery. If surgeons are overlapping their schedules, patients must be informed, without exception.”
The Boston Globe Spotlight Team surveyed 47 hospitals nationwide, reporting that 15 percent of surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital are concurrent (of 37,000 surgeries per year). Of these, 1,000 surgeries involve at least one patient with an open incision. At UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, 5 to 10 percent of surgeries are concurrent. The report also included double-booked procedures at other hospitals.
Patients and family members told the Spotlight Team they had no warning that their surgeon may leave during the procedure.
Among them was former Red Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks, who had spinal decompression surgery at MGH in December 2011. Jenks was critical of his care, and in February 2012, told the media his MGH surgical team made an error. As a result, he said he had to undergo another surgery 18 days later in Arizona.
When interviewed this year, Jenks said he had recently learned his surgeon was double-booked during his entire three-hour procedure. In response, MGH told the Spotlight Team the surgeon had been in the operating room during the entire operation and performed properly.
Other Boston Cases
The Spotlight Team reported on cases of concurrent surgeries at hospitals across the country. Two local cases involved Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
In 2005, a hand surgeon left Beth Israel during a break from an operation and went to Children’s Hospital, where he was on staff. His lawyer said the doctor experienced difficulties with a medical device involved in his procedure and went to Children’s Hospital to obtain a replacement. While there, he removed a cast for a young patient who wanted to take a trip with his family, the lawyer said.
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital case involves a thoracic surgeon who allowed other surgeons to perform a lung surgery, which led to the patient suffering complications. During testimony, the doctor acknowledged that the surgery overlapped with that of another patient. Though the jury sided with the doctor, the federal appeals court ordered a new trial, saying the judge erred by excluding testimony from expert witnesses.
From Our Experience
The Spotlight report reminds us of surgery that was performed on one of our clients at the Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge in 2002. The surgeon, Dr. David Arndt, left the operating room during complex back surgery. His mission was solely a private one–he needed to cash a check. As a result, he immediately lost his medical privileges and his medical license was revoked. For more details about the $1.25 million recovery we obtained for our client, click here.
Most Patients Will Receive at Least One Late or Wrong Diagnosis from a Doctor, New Report Says
Patient beware: A new report says most of us will leave a doctor’s office with a diagnosis which is either late or wrong at least once in our lives. This can be life-changing for some, leading to serious injury, handicap or even death.
The report, “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care,” was released this week by the Institute of Medicine, which also published the landmark report, “To Err is Human” in 1999. The 1999 report exposed the fact that approximately 44,000 to 98,000 people were dying in U.S. hospitals each year as a result of medical errors.
The current report focuses on how doctors diagnose patients. The report shared the story of Carolyn, who believed she was suffering a heart attack and visited a hospital emergency room. When she asked her doctor questions, a nurse told her the doctor “doesn’t like to be questioned.” Told she was suffering acid influx, she was released a few hours later. But she was not better; she returned to the ER two weeks later. As she suspected, she had suffered a heart attack and needed surgery to unblock her artery.
The authors say they do not know how many Carolyns are out there. But some estimates are at least 12 million people are being incorrectly diagnosed like this year, or roughly 5 percent of adults who seek outpatient care each year.
They predict more bad news for patients too: Errors will likely increase because of the processes behind how patients are diagnosed, and how health care is being delivered today. The Institute of Medicine recommends health care organizations set up systems to identify diagnostic errors, adopt a non-punitive culture and work as a team.
A few highlights from the report:
- There are many causes to diagnostic errors, including poor collaboration among physicians, patients and their families.
- Physicians often receive limited feedback when they make a diagnostic error. In some cases, they never even learn about their error.
- The medical culture continues to discourage transparency and disclosure of errors.
- Doctors may still be struggling to learn electronic medical record systems which have been implemented to help eliminate medical mistakes. This may actually be contributing to mistakes.
Read more from the report and its recommendations.
Patient Resource:
Our attorneys have also written an article called “Preventing Medical Errors at Hospitals” which discusses how patients can advocate for themselves and explains the Massachusetts Patients’ Bill of Rights.
Read More
Massachusetts Hospitals See Surge in Medical Errors
Despite years of patient safety initiatives, reports of serious medical errors at Massachusetts hospitals are rising rapidly.
In 2013, Massachusetts acute-care hospitals reported 753 serious medical errors and other patient injuries, according to The Boston Globe. This was an alarming 70 percent increase from the previous year. Other hospitals, including those providing psychiatric and rehabilitative care, saw a 60 percent increase from 2012.
Some say the reason may be broader reporting requirements from the state. Since 2008, hospitals have been required to notify the state Department of Public Health about serious reportable events. In addition, the Department of Public Health now has a computerized system for reporting, a change from when medical errors were reported by fax.
In the past, hospitals had to report incidents which left a patient with a “serious disability.”
In 2012, the term became “serious injury” and it has new categories, including if a patient dies or suffers serious injury if a medical professional fails to communicate test results.
State officials say the new requirements have been fully implemented. That means the conversation should move on to safety and preventing medical malpractice.
There were very serious injuries reported in 2013 and these are the areas which saw the largest increases:
- Patients who underwent a procedure on the wrong body part
- Patients who were burned in an operative room fire or by a heating pack
- Patients who were exposed to contaminated drugs or improperly sterilized equipment
Massachusetts is working to reform medical malpractice along with many other states and the federal government. In 2012, the state passed a health care cost containment bill. The goal of the bill was to save the state $200 billion in health care costs over the next 15 years. Measures included $135 million in grants to help community hospitals adopt electronic medical records and a 182-day cooling off period for injured patients to negotiate out-of-court with hospitals and physicians.
A few months earlier, some Massachusetts hospitals had also joined a plan which would allow doctors to apologize to patients for medical errors and work to settle malpractice claims out of court. It was based on a model developed by the University of Michigan Health System which was credited with reducing the number of lawsuits.
Our Resources for Patients
Our lawyers have over 100 years combined experience handling medical malpractice and personal injury claims. Please view our patient safety resources.
Medical Malpractice Payments Increased Slightly in 2013
In 2013, the amount paid out in medical malpractice lawsuits increased by $168 million, or 4.7 percent, nationwide. It was the first increase in 10 years. Of these, 96 percent of payments came by settlement, not a jury verdict.
These figures come from an analysis by Diederich Healthcare. The company reviewed 2013 medical malpractice payouts as recorded by the National Practitioner Data Bank. Other highlights:
- Overall, $3.7 billion was paid to medical malpractice plaintiffs in the U.S. in 2013.
- New York and Pennsylvania each saw more than $300 million paid out in medical malpractice payments last year, the most in the country. Massachusetts was among several states in the next category, with defendants paying out between $100-$300 million overall.
- Despite being in the highest category, New York’s medical malpractice payouts decreased by $73 million. Payments in 38 other states rose compared to 2012. In Massachusetts, injured plaintiffs received $7 million less overall.
- The average payment for cases that went to judgment in 2013 decreased by more than $200,000. Only 3 percent of cases were decided by judgment.
The figures counter claims made by insurers and doctors’ groups that there is a crisis caused by malpractice claims. Nevertheless, many states have increased the burden for plaintiffs who wish to file medical malpractice claims.
Roadblocks include medical malpractice tribunals which determine if a case has merit to proceed. In many states, these tribunals are full evidentiary hearings which are required even before suit is filed.
Many states have also enacted “I’m sorry” laws which allow doctors and medical providers to apologize without fear of making a statement which can be used against them in court.
In Massachusetts, legislation which passed in 2012 created a 182-day “cooling off” period to give both sides a chance to reach a settlement. There is no data available to assess whether the new program has had any appreciable effect on the handling of cases.
About Breakstone, White & Gluck
The Boston medical malpractice attorneys at Breakstone, White & Gluck have over 100 years combined experience handling cases involving surgical malpractice, medical errors, altered medical records and birth injuries. If you have been injured, it is important to learn your rights. For a free legal consultation, contact us at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.
Learn more about our medical malpractice case results.
Paramedic Negligence
$10,200,000 Failure to treat an infant with febrile seizures.
Medical Malpractice
$7,500,000 Anesthesia complications resulting in a severe infant brain injury.
Medical Malpractice
$3,000,000 Ovarian cancer and wrongful death.
Related:
Diederich Healthcare infographic.