The Medical Review Panel in Louisiana Neurosurgery and Beyond

Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. E992-E1001
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kosty ◽  
Bowen Jiang ◽  
Devon C LeFever ◽  
Jared R Brougham ◽  
Frederick White ◽  
...  

Abstract For the past several decades, medical malpractice claims in the state of Louisiana have been screened by a pretrial medical review panel (MRP). Composed of 3 physicians and 1 attorney, these panels are a method of filtering nonmeritorious lawsuits while expediting creditable claims. Currently, 14 jurisdictions in the United States require medical liability/malpractice cases be heard by an MRP or screening panel prior to trial. In this article, we review the MRP process in Louisiana and compare it to those in other states. Data are presented for the past 10 yr of malpractice claims in Louisiana with an emphasis on the neurosurgery specialty. Finally, the benefits and challenges of pretrial screening panels are discussed.

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L Kaplan ◽  
Warren C Hammert ◽  
James E Zin

Background Physicians continue to practice in a very litigious environment. Some physicians try to mitigate their exposure to lawsuits by avoiding geographical locations known for their high incidence of medical malpractice claims. Not only are certain areas of the United States known to have a higher incidence of litigation, but it is also assumed that certain areas of the hospital incur a greater liability. There seems to be a medicolegal dogma suggesting a higher percentage of malpractice claims coming from patients seen in the emergency room (ER), as well as higher settlements for ER claims. Objective To determine if there is any validity to the dogma that a higher percentage of malpractice claims arise from the ER. Methods An analysis of common plastic surgery consults that result in malpractice claims was performed. The location where the basis for the lawsuit arose – the ER, office (clinic) or the operating room (OR) – was evaluated. The value of the indemnity paid and whether its value increased or decreased based on the location of the misadventure was evaluated. Results According to the data, which represented 60% of American physicians, there was a larger absolute number of malpractice claims arising from the OR, not the ER. However, the highest average indemnity was paid for cases involving amputations when the misadventure originated in the ER. Conclusions The dogma that a greater percentage of lawsuits come from incidents arising in the ER is not supported. However, depending on the patient's injury and diagnosis, a lawsuit from the ER can be more costly than one from the OR.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Thomas Allan Heller

Medical Malpractice claims are frequently asserted in the United States. At various time and places, an extraordinarily high number of claims and payouts led to what some have called medical malpractice crises. Consequently, in some geographical locations physicians either could not purchase malpractice insurance as carriers withdrew from the market, or, insurance became increasingly expensive and the overall costs associated with the delivery of health care continued to rise. Other undesirable consequences of these crises included a shortage of qualified physicians in certain parts of the country. Many of the states responded to these problems legislatively through a long series of tort reform measures. The health care industry itself has evolved in numerous ways. In particular, many health care providers have turned away from traditional private insurance models to self-insured models such as captives. Further, the industry has continued to consolidate, with fewer, but larger hospitals and clinics, and with an increasing number of physicians employed directly by hospitals and large clinics. The results of all of these changes have had mixed results.


Yuridika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 367
Author(s):  
Muh Endriyo Susila

A system that serves the liability and settlement of medical malpractice disputes or commonly referred to as medical malpractice system has been established in many countries to respond the rise of medical malpractice claims against doctors. Medical malpractice system in the United States of America (the USA) has been relatively well developed as compared to other countries.  Beside adopting pretrial screening process in medical malpractice litigation, various methods of alternative to litigation have been developed in the USA. This paper aims to explore the development of the medical malpractice system in the USA and to see the possibility for Indonesia to learn. This normative legal research relies on the secondary data especially which were collected from online sources. It is found that there are some initiatives in the USA that can be adopted by Indonesia for improving its medical malpractice system, especially the establishment of pretrial screening panel. It is expected that pretrial screening process can eliminate meritless claims which later may reduce unnecessary legal actions against doctors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 785-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piper Boyll ◽  
Paul Kang ◽  
Raman Mahabir ◽  
Robert W Bernard

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