Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,608
- 910
HARRISBURG — In 2003, with the state’s health-care industry warning that doctors were fleeing in record numbers as a result of soaring malpractice insurance costs, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to make a highly controversial move.
For the first time, patients would be allowed to sue for medical malpractice only in the county where the alleged injury happened. Previously, they could sue in any county where the provider operated, allowing them to choose the venue where a jury might be most sympathetic.
Now, more than 15 years later, a new independent study casts doubt on the underlying reason for the change, concluding that the number of doctors practicing in Pennsylvania does not appear to be closely tied to the cost of malpractice insurance.
Special interest groups in Pa. fight over your right to sue if you're hurt during a medical procedure
Why did they have to make it a $%&fest to begin with?
For the first time, patients would be allowed to sue for medical malpractice only in the county where the alleged injury happened. Previously, they could sue in any county where the provider operated, allowing them to choose the venue where a jury might be most sympathetic.
Now, more than 15 years later, a new independent study casts doubt on the underlying reason for the change, concluding that the number of doctors practicing in Pennsylvania does not appear to be closely tied to the cost of malpractice insurance.
Special interest groups in Pa. fight over your right to sue if you're hurt during a medical procedure
Why did they have to make it a $%&fest to begin with?
