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medpundit |
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Saturday, February 14, 2004A helicopter transferred the patient from Cleveland to Columbus. Blood was not flowing properly to his lower extremities; he had cardiovascular disease and diabetes. He went to the intensive care unit in the middle of the night. Dr. Ruff said she was involved with the patient for 15 minutes before he died. Months later, she became one of 23 people in Columbus and Cleveland named in a lawsuit. Immediately, she asked her lawyer to get her removed. It took 17 months, six motions and a deposition during which she told the plaintiffs attorneys she had nothing to add to the case before her name was dropped. During that time, though, her medical liability insurance came up for renewal. And she was named in another lawsuit and again removed before the case went to trial. The insurer told her and her partners that it would not renew their contract. They had to scramble to find a new insurer. When they signed with the new company, they had to switch from a less expensive occurrence policy to a more expensive claims-made policy. Dr. Ruff's premiums doubled after the first year and continue to climb. Also, the new policy would require her to pay tail coverage if she decides to change companies again. Consequently, Dr. Ruff can show financial damage for having been named in two lawsuits that were ultimately dropped. In addition to Dr. Ruff's case, OSMA expects to get involved in a second case in coming months, Cooper said. OSMA says it isn't suggesting that there aren't legitimate cases in which it might not be clear-cut whether a certain physician should be named in a lawsuit. But 'when someone brings a shotgun lawsuit, the lawyer doesn't make a good-faith effort to find out what happened before it is filed,' Cooper said. 'In the past, there hasn't been any disincentive for lawyers to do this.' OSMA knows that proving these cases is often difficult. Courts want plaintiffs to be able to bring claims in good faith without the fear of being sanctioned. That is why they are looking for the most egregious examples. It's good to see the OSMA taking aim at frivolous suits, because things are really getting bad in Ohio. Especially in Northeast Ohio. One malpractice insurance company has decided not to renew anyone's policy who has two claims against them - even shot-gun claims like the one outlined above. Other companies won't write new policies here at all. Others have had their financial ratings dropped to "B+" or lower, which means the doctors insured by them can't see patients at hospitals, which require staff to have coverage from companies with "A-" or higher ratings. Anything less, and the hospital begins to have malpractice issues of its own. The most frustating thing about all of this is how oblivious the public seems to be. It doesn't dawn on them how serious the crisis is until they lose their own physician. Even then, it doesn't always dawn on them. Another family physician in my town had to abruptly close his practice a couple of months ago when his insurance carrier declined to renew his policy. Some of his patients have become my patients, and a lot of him seem to think it's his fault that he lost his policy. It isn't. He's a very good physician, and if they've been his patient as long as most of them have, they must know that. I've been telling them that any doctor in our town could find themselves in his position tomorrow. But they shrug me off. They just don't care. posted by Sydney on 2/14/2004 05:00:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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