Malpractice Premiums Increase While Patient Safety Is On The Decline

In society, we tend to collectively attach ourselves to something that sounds right, rather than taking the time to carefully consider all of the facts. One such instance is in the case of medical malpractice. Ask anyone and they will tell you (based upon millions spent on ads run by insurance companies and the chambers of commerce), “Premiums are outrageous as a result of people suing the doctors and bilking the system.” Sounds true? Wrong.

Since 2003, payouts to patients nationally have steadily declined to the tune of 51%. Still however, people are calling for “more reform” when the current reform has worked... for doctors.

By placing a cap on how much compensation a patient can receive, state legislatures have created a disincentive for hospitals and doctors to practice safer medicine. Regardless of how negligent a medical provider is, by limiting damages recoverable by the victims of medical negligence, the medical profession essentially feels that, “No matter how negligent we are, we will only pay for a fraction of our error.” Consequently, medical error rates remain dangerously high.

"Mistakes are happening every day in every hospital in the country that we're just not catching," says Dr. Albert Wu, an internist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. More than 250,000 people every year die as a result of medical errors, and medical error injuries are in the millions. These combined numbers result in medical malpractice being “the third leading cause of death" in the country, according to Dr. Peter Pronovost, an anesthesiologist and critical care physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

If we decided to adopt the same philosophy regarding auto insurance, we could rear-end a Rolls Royce and pay no more than if we hit a Dodge Neon. Unfortunately, that absurdity is commonplace in the medical field. They are saying the same thing, “Whether we give you a scar or we permanently disable you, even kill you or a loved one, we’re only offering a one-size fits-all package.”

Still think more reform is needed? The statistics show that while medical malpractice premiums in Missouri have increased from $108 million to $176 million over the past 20 years (an average of only 3.15% annually), the number of patient injury and death payouts have fallen dramatically from 16,000 to 8,450, a 47% reduction. From 1991-2011 the cost of annual claim payments, including legal defense fees, fell from $76 million to $61 million; 60% of claims paid were less than $250,000 and 80% were under $500,000. Yet premiums continue to rise as the insurance companies air misleading ads claiming that “excessive” jury awards compel them to raise prices.

Since 1991 the number of insurers selling malpractice insurance in Missouri has grown from 72 to 93, an increase that wouldn’t happen were the business of malpractice were unprofitable. This business is so profitable in fact, a new report reveals that the average profit margin for the top 10 medical malpractice insurers is twice as high as 50 of the most profitable Fortune 500 companies. A report done by the American Association for Justice found that by distorting profits and losses, insurers have created bogus malpractice insurance “emergencies” so that lawmakers would consider limiting the legal rights of injured patients.

The president of the American Association for Justice said, “While health care costs skyrocket, Congress should not give another handout to malpractice insurers that have average profits higher than 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Congress needs to focus on patient safety, not efforts that will pad the pockets of insurance companies at the expense of Americans’ legal rights.”

Fun At The Pool Starts With A Responsible Adult

As the weather gets warmer, families are able to spend more time outdoors doing activities they love such as barbecuing, playing sports or swimming. Spending time at the pool with your family can be a wonderful way to occupy your summer; however, taking your eyes off of your child for just a moment at the pool can be life changing. 

Each summer, too many children are victims of drownings or near drownings. Below are just a few steps every adult should exercise when watching children in, or around a pool. 

• Assign an adult to supervise the children. Whether there is one or several adults in the immediate area, be sure that at least one knows they are keeping an eye on the kids. 
• Remove the children from the pool area if you are taking a phone call or are going to be distracted, even for just a moment. 
• Pool toys and floaties are not life jackets and should never be substituted for supervision by an adult. 
• Be sure that your pool is fenced in and has a self latching gate. 
• Do not over crowd your pool with toys that float on the surface, be sure that you can see any children in the pool clearly, without obstruction. 

Two summers ago, The Glassman Law Firm handled a case in which a nine year old girl had drowned at a pool party where she was celebrating the end of the school year. While there were plenty of adults around the pool area to watch the children, no one was specifically assigned to the task. Since the adults were so distracted by their own conversation, they failed to notice that the young girl had jumped off of the diving board-- and never resurfaced. Once it occurred to them that the girl was missing; they wasted valuable time searching for her in the home-- not realizing because of all of the pool toys and rafts floating on the surface, that the girl was lifeless at the bottom of the pool. This situation was completely avoidable. Regardless of the fact that The Glassman Law Firm was able to settle the case for the highest amount ever awarded for a child’s death in that county, the grief of a lifetime still haunts the surviving parents and siblings. 

In addition to these suggestions, make sure that there aren’t any objects your child could use to gain access to a neighbor’s pool. You could be the safest person in the world with the most secure, childproof swimming pool but a jungle gym or ladder too close to a fence could give a determined child an entry way into a neighbor’s yard. 

During the summer of 2010, a six and three year old accessed their neighbor’s pool and drowned, even with the neighbor’s pool fenced and gated. It is unknown how the children were able to access the pool, however, they were seen playing with a stepladder in their own backyard before the accident occurred. During the drowning, there were no adults home watching the children. 

Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children ages one to 14 years old. In 2007, there were 3,443 fatal unintentional drownings in the United States. When a drowning is non fatal, the child can suffer from brain damage that may involve long term disabilities such as learning disabilities, memory problems, and permanent loss of basic functioning. Don’t let your child become another statistic this summer. Child drownings are preventable and it all starts with a responsible adult.

The Third Week In May Is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, Tips For Keeping Your Family Safe

The third week in May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Dog may be man’s best friend but dog also accounts for $109 million being paid out on 3,800 bite claims last year by State Farm Insurance. It was estimated by the Insurance Information Institute that approximately $479 million was paid by all insurance companies in dog bite claims.

California, home to more dogs and people than any other state topped the list in 2011.

Research done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that nationally, approximately 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs every year and more than half of those are children. Of the 800,000 people that seek medical attention, only 50% actually require treatment. Each year, roughly 16 people die from dog bites.

Seniors represent the largest group at risk for dog bites after children ages 5 to 9 years old. Letter carriers come in third within that group.

In the United States, 5,600 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers were bitten by dogs each year for the last two years. In California, a letter carrier was attacked and died just four days later after suffering a stroke which was likely brought on by the dog bite trauma. Despite the substantial number of attacks on letter carriers, the Postal Service has elected to focus on preventing dog bites in children since they are 900 times more likely to be bitten than a letter carrier.

It is predicted by the ASPCA that half of all children in the U.S. will be bitten by a dog before the age of 12 and most of the bites will be from the family dog or a friends dog. The good news is that dog bites can be prevented. There are appropriate ways for a child, or anyone for that matter, to meet a dog and these tips may help prevent a future dog bite.

• Avoid playing aggressive games with your own dog. 
• Teach submissive behavior. Your dog should be trained from an early age to give up food or a toy without growling or biting. An example of submissive behavior is having your dog lie on his back and expose his stomach on command. If your dog knows that you’re in charge, you may be able to stop any unwanted or dangerous behavior. 
• ALWAYS spay or neuter your dog, this reduces aggression. 
• NEVER leave your dog alone with babies or small children. 
• Teach your child that “stranger danger” is not limited to people but this also includes dogs that they do not know. 
• Do not run or scream if a strange dog approaches you; stand still and stay calm. Running could escalate the dog’s aggression. If a child is knocked down, they should roll up into a ball and stay still. 
• If a child sees a stray dog or any dog, exhibiting strange behavior, they should tell an adult immediately. 
• Everyone should exercise the “no touch, no talk, no eye contact” rule when meeting a dog for the first time. Let the dog come to you, sniff you, and submit to being petted. 
• Let a sleeping dog lie. This goes for any dog, even your own. 

Hopefully these tips will help you and your family stay safe and prevent any future dog bites.

Disclosure, Apology and Offer

A coalition of six healthcare organizations announced on Wednesday, the 18th of April, that the new “Disclosure, Apology and Offer” process will be piloted this year in seven various Massachusetts hospitals. This process requires disclosure to patients when a medical error is made and something goes wrong over the course of the patient's care. The error is then investigated, an apology is made, and financial compensation is offered in lieu of legal action.

“This idea that you have to wait for five years (for a suit) to play itself out in the legal system before you can get an explanation that you need to heal, I think it’s unacceptable,” says Dr. Ashley Yeats, chief medical officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton. “ It takes precious time away from patients, it takes time away from physicians, and it ultimately takes good people, I think, out of the health care system.”

While more transparency among health care providers is a good thing, it is cause for concern when the entire process can be controlled by the hospital itself. If it is decided that malpractice has occurred, the hospital then apologizes and makes an offer to the patient. In accepting that offer, the patient has just signed away all of his legal rights -- even if the patient requires future medical treatment that the settlement did not cover.

The hospitals say that patients will be “encouraged” to hire an attorney to evaluate whether an offer is fair, however counsel is not required. And since the overall goal of the program is to prevent any litigation, a representative from the hospital would most likely offer a settlement designed to minimize what a patient could likely recover if he was represented by an experienced malpractice lawyer. How could the average person decide if the offer is reasonable without the assistance of his own experienced counsel?

Suffolk University Law professor Gabriel H. Teninbaum reviewed apology programs across the country and writes this about the University of Michigan hospital system (UMHS) on which the Massachusetts apology program is based:

“Patients need an advocate because programs like UMHS have attorneys whose primary obligation is to protect the assets of their organization. Without legal advice of their own, patients who take part in apology programs must trust that risk managers would violate their obligation to their own employer (of keeping overall costs low), in order to give them an appropriate settlement. There is simply no evidence that this has, or will, occur and no program has released any data to that effect…

In other words, it has not been made public whether patients with valid claims for malpractice are giving up some compensation to which they are entitled in exchange for the warm discussions UMHS provides. If the small glimpse provided by [one anecdotal] case is a representative of what UMHS does, then the organization derives significant financial benefits by paying less money to patients injured by medical errors.”

If an “apology” is accepted by the patient, an apology protection provision would be included that would prevent a litigant from using the apology against a hospital or doctor, as proof of negligence, if a lawsuit were filed. This fact alone, calls into question both the sincerity of the apology and the true reason it was made. Was it to save the defendant money or merely an effort to persuade a grieving plaintiff from pursuing fair compensation in the legal system?

People should also be aware that this “apology” program may be no more than a subterfuge. Medicare now refuses payment of medical bills that were caused by medical negligence. If the hospital can “slip in” an apology before Medicare reveals its negligence, how many lawsuits will it avoid by giving the appearance of acting like a good citizen?

Bottom line: Representation by your own lawyer is the only way you can be assured of fair compensation. Hospitals and physicians do not give you something they could not already be liable to pay.

Stay Safe While Sharing The Road With Large Trucks

March 20th kicks off the first day of spring this year. With spring comes blooming flowers and sunny days ahead. Spring also comes with unpredictable weather and slippery conditions on the road. Motorists need to be especially careful around big rigs and semi trucks on our nations highways and roads during this time of year due to these conditions.

Large trucks have the capacity to weigh up to 80,000 pounds depending on their cargo; comparatively, a car can weigh around one or two tons. Mix these vehicles together with icy, slippery conditions and a distracted driver and you have a recipe for disaster. In addition to the road conditions you can have violent thunderstorms, high winds, and in some parts of the country, giant dust storms called Haboobs that bring visibility to near zero.

To protect yourself and the occupants in your car, there are several steps you can exercise while sharing the road with a semi truck:

• Stay out of the truck’s blind spots- Even though every truck is equipped with side mirrors, the driver still has blind spots. If you find yourself driving next to a large truck either pass the truck or fall behind it. While passing, try to stay to the trucks left side where their visibility is greater.
• Never follow a large truck too closely- Keep roughly 20 car lengths in between the front of your vehicle and the back of the truck. A large truck’s stopping distance varies greatly depending on if their carrying cargo or not so it’s best to steer clear incase the truck driver underestimates their stopping distance.
• Use extra caution when passing a truck- When you’re passing a truck, do not go back into your lane until you can see the trucks headlights in your rear view mirror. Leaving this distance is important because if you are in a collision with a truck, the smaller vehicle will be the one that takes the brunt of the damages.
• Never allow a truck to follow your vehicle too closely- Again, the truck driver could underestimate their stopping distance so it’s better to be safe than sorry. Simply move your car into another lane if it’s possible. 

By exercising caution and being diligent of your surroundings, you could avoid a collision with one of these giants and keep enjoying the sight of nature blooming around you.

If you or a family member is unfortunate enough to be involved in a tragic accident with a semi-truck or rig of any kind, our knowledge of the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations enables us to help injured victims and their families obtain substantial settlements from trucking companies each year. Call us for a free case evaluation whenever involved in this type of accident.

How Tort Reform Affects Your Medical Malpractice Case

Finding an attorney to represent you with your medical malpractice case can feel frustrating, and rightfully so. As a result of the recent tort reform, legislation has made it more difficult for an injured person to pursue a lawsuit since jury awards are now "capped" at a maximum of $350,000 for pain and suffering over the course of a lifetime.  This means that unless there are substantial damages for future medical care or lost income resulting from disability, that the damages that a court can award may not justify the tremendous expense of expert witness fees and extensive depositions that are necessary to prove the case.

The reason for the change is that legislators felt that surgeons, pharmacists, and doctors were too often subjected to frivolous lawsuits, and so they set in motion a tort reform that changed the way medical malpractice cases were dealt with. While the tort reform affected frivolous lawsuits, it also made it much more difficult for the victim to receive the compensation that they deserve. 

We cannot recommend that an injured client pursue a case where two-thirds or more of the recoverable damages may be consumed by the need for expensive expert witness fees, lengthy discovery, and attorney fees. This is the primary reason that the Missouri Superintendent of Insurance reported that following the tort reform legislation of 2005, the volume of newly filed medical malpractice cases dropped more than 50%. Many law firms that formerly specialized in defending malpractice cases have reduced their staff or gone out of business. Lest anyone think this was caused by lawyers filing frivolous suits, you should know that insurance companies continue to charge doctors high premiums for their malpractice coverage, despite the dramatic drop in claims. Until this becomes common public knowledge and consumer groups begin lobbying the Missouri Legislature to change the law, many injured patients will not receive any justice.

Glassmand Law Firm Welcomes Attorney Maria Sanchez!

The GlassmanLaw Firm warmly welcomes former Assistant US Attorney Maria C. Sanchez to our team as our newest associate. Born in Cuba, she immigrated to the United States with her family in the 1960’s. She received her BA from University of Missouri-St. Louis and her JD from University of Miami School of Law. 

Her full bio is on our website here: http://glassmanlegal.com/sanchez-maria.html

We are thrilled to have her as an addition to our team!

Stephen Glassman, St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney