You've heard the corporate claim: caps on malpractice suit claims are needed to keep insurance rates down, because the insurers must pay out such a big percentage of every dollar to VICTIMS of malpractice. They also claim that too much money goes to the victim's "trial lawyers." Well, like all other corporate claims, they're lies. In California, "Malpractice Caps resulted in a smaller fraction of premiums being used to pay claims and a higher percentage devoted to insurer profit and insurance defense lawyer. During the First 12 years of California's Malpractice law, insurers used 68% of doctor premiums to pay for profit, oerhead and defense costs. Only 31 cents of every dollar actually paid injured victims' claims.California insurers now spend approximately 35% of every premium dollar fighting claims, while the national average is 21 cents. " So the only winners were the insurers and THEIR lawyers!


For entire study see:

www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/rp/rp003103.pdf