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Archive for the ‘Malpractice Insurance’ Category

Medical practitioners payout hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to insurance carriers to cover insurance premiums in the event that they are targeted as possibly being charged with medical malpractice. Because the rate at which the general public is suing the medical community for their botched surgeries or misdiagnosed conditions the insurance premiums for doctors and hospitals has skyrocketed out of control. There is more money being spent on malpractice insurance by doctors than goes to pay the medical professionals for their service. In some cases over half of the money earned by a doctor are spent on insurance premiums to keep surgeons and specialists from going into bankruptcy in the event that a patient decides to go after them for medical malpractice.

It seems that as the doctors are paying out in premiums more than they are able to take home that some medical professionals would rather call it quits than see their hard earned income be drained by the insurance companies. While there are real malpractice cases that have legitimate claims for wrongful procedures and misdiagnosis the medical community is suffering from the threat of doctors that are fed up with the constant implication that they are in some way incompetent and lack the skills that they have trained so hard for through their schooling.

If doctors do start seeking work outside of the fields for which they were trained there may be an epidemic of patients that will not be treated because the medical industry would lack the manpower to handle the number of cases that each doctor would be forced to see. It seems that the only clear cut winners when it comes to medical malpractice are not the patients that successfully win law suits for legitimate claims, but the insurance companies that are taking millions of dollars out of the doctors pockets and forcing some caring professionals to call it quits.

Virtually everyone has heard of medical malpractice, but not many people are aware that dental malpractice can also occur and can be just as serious. Dentists can get malpractice insurance just as doctors can, although they can usually only get it through insurers who also write medical malpractice policies. Almost all dentists carry this insurance, and if you are a dentist’s patient and think that the dentist may have committed dental malpractice on you, you may be wise to seek the advice of a dental malpractice lawyer.

In general, dental malpractice claims have remained fairly steady over about the last decade, as have their outcomes. Claims for malpractice are usually smaller than those that occur in the medical community. When they occur, they occur because improper treatment or services have been rendered, or the dentist has failed to properly detect or diagnose conditions. Injuries in dental malpractice can include injuries to the lips, jaw, tongue, damage to the nerves affecting these areas, failure to detect oral cancer or other oral disease, injuries related to dental surgery and treatment, and even death or injury related to anesthetic use.

A patient has a right to expect professional and accurate diagnosis and treatment when they visit a medical professional, either a doctor or a dentist. If the dentist does not meet that responsibility, there may be grounds for a dental malpractice lawsuit. Not every little thing that a dentist does wrong may warrant a lawsuit, but if the injury is severe or permanent, you may wish to consider a dental malpractice lawyer to review it, who can advise you as to whether you have grounds to pursue it further or not.

Most seriously, a dental malpractice case can result from a patient’s death as a result of dental procedure complications. For example, anesthesia may be improperly administered, or an infection can take hold because it was not properly treated.

Still another instance of possible dental malpractice can occur when improperly done oral surgery leads to possible permanent damage of facial or tongue nerves, or of damage to the tongue itself. Some outcomes of this possible trauma could be a loss of sensation or taste, as well as difficulty talking, swallowing, or eating.

A simple dental extraction can also be a problem and possible case for dental malpractice when the dentist removes the wrong tooth, for example a healthy tooth instead of the decayed one. This can lead to other problems and complications as well. Dental malpractice also occurs when the dentist fails to diagnose and treat periodontal disease or oral cancer. You may also have a case if the dentist performs a procedure on you for which you did not authorize or consent to.

In some cases, improper orthodontic procedures are done on adults or children, and this, too, can be defined as malpractice. Orthodontists are required to present alternatives to patients, and in some cases, can improperly remove teeth instead of presenting other less radical options to aid in teeth straightening. When orthodontics are improperly done, this can also lead to TMJ syndrome or headaches that will not go away.

Don’t be afraid to contact a dental malpractice lawyer if you see any of these things applying to you. You can discuss your case with a qualified attorney and they can use their experience to advise you whether or not you have a valid case that you should pursue.

Bills have recently been introduced in both the House and the Senate which would change the way antitrust laws affect malpractice and health insurance providers. A House of Representatives panel voted on Wednesday, October 21 to approve the bill, which will send it on to further review. While it is still a long way from making its way into law, it will drastically change the system as it stands and how medical malpractice insurers operate.

Under current law, such insurance providers have been exempted from having to follow antitrust legislation since 1945, meaning that the companies can currently legally engage in practices such as price fixing, collusion, bid rigging, and dividing markets to reduce competition. The exemption was made so that insurance companies could offer more efficient, less costly coverage by not having to waste money competing with each other. However, some politicians believe that this has turned the healthcare industry into a complicated, expensive, and byzantine organization which does not properly provide care for its clients.

With this view in mind, the House Judiciary Committee passed its version of the bill onto further debate, but not before amending it so that it would allow companies to work together in order to compile accurate and detailed records of historical loss. According to some of the legislators behind the passing of the bill, the insurance companies have been unfairly taking advantage of their exemption from antitrust legislation and have not been adequately competing on price, growing rich off the arrangement. Naturally, this view is not shared by everyone.

Over in the Senate, their version of the bill will be included as an amendment to more large-scale legislation on healthcare reform.

Insurance representatives disagreed with the politicians’ take on the issue, saying that insurance companies were already under numerous state laws, as well as broad federal and state antitrust laws. They believe that, if the bills are passed, it will produce an overabundance of legislation which will hamper the insurance companies’ ability to provide affordable healthcare options to consumers.

Both groups can agree that insurance costs have gone up over the last few years. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average premium for a family insurance plan went from $5,791 in 1999 to $13,375 today, an increase of over 130%. The Business Roundtable, which represents several major US corporations, estimates that per-employee health costs could rise from $10,743 per year today to $28,530 per year in 2019.

When you get a procedure done from your doctor it is important that you know the background history first.

The purpose of medical malpractice insurance is to cover doctors and other healthcare professionals for any liability claims arising from their treatment of patients.

If a doctor or healthcare provider is found guilty of medical malpractice, the damages awarded often reach into the millions, and can be even larger if punitive damages are awarded. Malpractice insurance shields him or her from financial liability in the case of a malpractice verdict.

However, just as your auto insurance rates go up with each ticket you receive, being found guilty of medical malpractice can drive a doctor’s insurance rates up for many years. In addition, recent years have seen a steep rise in the cost of medical malpractice coverage. This has, in many cases, caused great hardship for those in the medical community, and some are pushing for limits on certain types of damages in order to defray costs.

Despite these concerns, many attorneys for malpractice victims disagree with such limits. Specifically, they blame high premiums on poor investment choices while large plaintiff rewards simply reflect an unacceptable level of patient care and medical practice.

This crisis has been particularly prevalent in Pennsylvania. Physicians and hospitals are citing a lack of availability and affordability for malpractice insurance, so much so that it is driving many practitioners right out of business.

High-risk specialty areas have been hit the hardest, as they face the greatest chance for malpractice claims, and therefore carry the highest rates. In general, malpractice payouts have been on the rise in recent years and the fallout for healthcare professionals has been severe.

Despite the difficulty some practitioners may be experiencing in regards to paying their malpractice insurance premiums, it’s a problem that is not likely to go away. Since it is really the only shield doctors have from the financial ruin that might result from a huge damage award, healthcare professionals must cover these rates to stay in business.

It’s common knowledge that litigation has exploded over the past few years. This is particularly true with respect to malpractice suits against licensed professionals. This category of risk generally applies to: