President Bush went to Illinios Wednesday to show his support for a medical malpractice bill that he claims will curb some of the high costs of health care in America and improve the quality of care. But what he didn’t tell the American public is how the same bill would prevent consumers from seeking punitive […]

A California law that caps non-economic awards in medical malpractice lawsuits has cut payments in such lawsuits by 30 percent, according to a Rand Corporation study released on Monday.
Researchers found that because of the limits on attorney’s fees contained in the California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, net recoveries actually realized by these plaintiffs were […]

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, says a General Accounting Office study shows that the American Medical Association and other medical provider groups manufactured a “crisis” of access to care, in order to change the medical malpractice insurance system.
The GAO report found that the volume of medical care delivered to patients in AMA-designated “crisis states” […]

The House passed a bill sets caps for medical malpractice awards, such as compensation for loss of a limb or sight, at $250,000. The bill also sets caps on punitive damages - those that punish a physician for serious mistakes - would be limited to twice the amount of economic damages awarded or $250,000, whichever […]

Superior Court Judge Kenneth Lee suspended the largest reported verdict in a suit involving laser-corrective eye surgery and ordered a new trial after Dr. Jeffrey Machat, a key plaintiff’s expert, said his testimony was wrong. Steve Post, a former commercial airline pilot, was awarded $4 million last May after alleging that doctors at University Physicians […]

New study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine says 35 percent of physicians and 42 percent of the general public say that they had experienced a medical error themselves, or had one affect a family member. The study is the first effort to quantify the public�s experience with medical mistakes as well as […]

SHIPROCK, N.M. — The federal government has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Northern Navajo Medical Center. The lawsuit alleged that a series of medical mistakes left 4-year-old Eric Borg brain-damaged and quadriplegic.
(via The Associated Press)

Jackson, Miss.–Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove attempting to end the state’s healthcare crisis signed a bill that sets caps for medical malpractice claims. Multimillion-dollar verdicts and skyrocketing premiums have driven away insurers and doctors.
The bill sets caps for pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractices cases at $500,000, increasing to $750,000 by 2001 and $1 million by 2017. […]