Insurance market forces, not rising tort costs, drive recent medical malpractice premium increases, according to a new study released March 10, 2005 by the The Center on Lawyers, Civil Justice, and the Media at University of Texas
Examining records on 150,000 closed claim files over a period from 1988-2002, the authors found that claim costs were stable, except for a rise of about 4% annually in defense costs. The authors attributed recent rises in malpractice premiums to market forces, because "no changes occurred in the tort system that could possibly account for them," according to a press release. The study's authors are Professors Bernard S. Black (University of Texas), Charles Silver (University of Texas), David A. Hyman (University of Illinois), and William M. Sage (Columbia University).
A summary of their findings and link to the full paper is available here.
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Posted by dougsimpson at March 11, 2005 03:18 PM