July 11, 2024 by matray

Below are some headlines and article synopses from the July 2024 issue of Medical Liability Monitor. To read the articles in their entirety, please subscribe today.

Nuclear Jury Verdicts Have Surged During the Last Decade
Nuclear jury verdicts in personal injury and wrongful death cases have surged during the last decade, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform (ILR). The report’s authors define a nuclear verdict as a jury determination in favor of the plaintiff with a damage award that surpasses $10 million. Key findings from the report indicate that approximately half of the studied nuclear verdicts were between $10 million and $20 million, and more than a third were between $20 million and $50 million. The remaining 19% exceeded $50 million, including 115 “mega” nuclear verdicts of $100 million or more. The median nuclear verdict during the study period was $21 million, and the mean was substantially higher at $89 million. Medical liability verdicts had a $19.6 million median and a $33.6 million mean during the 10-year study period …

Number of Patient Harms rose 59% Globally Between 1990, 2019
The number of patient harms associated with medical treatment rose by 59% globally — from 11 million to 18 million — between 1990 and 2019, according to a new data analysis published online in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety. Patient harms outpaced the 45% increase in the world’s population during the same period. And older people bore the brunt of these adverse incidents, with the steepest rise among 65-69 year olds, the findings show …

Berkshire Hathaway Leads MPL in DPW
Berkshire Hathaway maintained its spot as the leading provider of medical professional liability insurance in the U.S. based on claims-made coverage with $1.3 billion in direct premiums written (DPW) in 2023. This figure represents a slight 0.2% decrease in annual premium for the company, according to a Best’s Rankings report released last month. The report evaluates the DPW for the top providers of claims-made medical professional liability insurance …

Colorado Supreme Court to Decide If Damages Cap Applies to Interest
The Colorado Supreme Court last month agreed to review whether a provision in state law that typically capped recoverable economic and noneconomic damages at $1 million also applies to the interest accrued from the time of the plaintiff’s injury. Colorado judges retain discretion to pierce the cap when there is a finding of good cause to believe that the cap is unfair and that economic damages alone would exceed the umbrella cap limit …

Inflation’s Double-Edged Sword Impacts First-Quarter 2024 Financial Results for MPL Specialty Writers
An analysis of first-quarter financial results for the MPL industry indicates elevated inflation resulted in higher-than-average underwriting expense growth in 2023 and 2024, but also helped investment yields achieve better returns than the five-year Treasury Bond would offer …

The AMA Adopts New Prior Authorization Reform Policies
Physician and medical student leaders at the Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates last month approved two new policies aimed at fighting for greater health insurer accountability and transparency against the backdrop of proliferating, onerous prior authorization requirements that are delaying and denying necessary care for patients and adding administrative burdens for physicians. The House of Delegates is the AMA’s policymaking body …

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