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To: James Hutton who wrote (199992)	5/3/2009 11:21:23 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

>> Unfortunately, some professionals make more mistakes than others and they pay higher insurance premiums. As pointed out before, the median OBGYN's premium is 55K. It is, because the exposure is higher than, for example, FP. While it is true some make more mistakes than others, it is also true that lawsuits happen every day in which no mistake was made by a physician but he is in the unfortunate position of being the target of litigation anyway. Anybody can sue anybody, and it is always possible to get an expert to testify against another. So, malpractice claims are often settled by the insurer to avoid the hazard of litigation -- to avoid the possibility some jury will come back with a massive award. The insurance company will settle the claim for 500K, get it back from the insured in premiums, and the "injured" walks away with 500K in free money less the lawyers 1/3. I don't know the details for any of the clients I mentioned, but one was in a subspecialty in which he had great exposure to this kind of suit (the one who eventually closed). I suspect tort reform is one of the biggest single items that could be done to cut medical costs in the US. Some serious limitations on massive awards would make a huge difference.