Consumers for Civil Justice - Medical Malpractice Caps - Medical Malpractice & Tort Reform Facts

Medical Malpractice Caps

The Impact of Non-Economic Damage Caps on Physician Premiums, Claims Payout Levels, and Availability of Coverage

June 2003
by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
Melissa Gannon
Stephanie Eakins

Weiss Ratings, Inc.

In the last few years, soaring premiums on medical malpractice insurance (med mal) have emerged as a national crisis, invading the practice of medicine, threatening the availability of care, and prompting widespread public outcry.

Many doctors, particularly in high-risk specialties, have received renewal notices announcing premium increases of 100% or even 200% over the previous year. Others have simply been dropped by their insurance carriers, forcing them to shop for new med mal coverage, practice without any coverage at all, or stop practicing medicine altogether--all painful alternatives.

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Total payments for malpractice judgments have fallen 24.5 percent, from $299.6 million in 2000 to $226.2 million in 2004.
The median payment resulting from a judgment appears to have risen, from $230,000 in 2000 to $265,000 in 2004.
The total number of judgments against physicians dropped 31.9 percent between 2000 and 2004, from 670 to 456.
The number of malpractice judgments against physicians, adjusted for population growth, has fallen 34.6 percent since 2000.