November 7, 2024 by matray

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

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Respond to Medical Liability Crisis
Medical liability tort reform advocates applauded Pennsylvania lawmakers last month when they introduced a package of tort reform bills aimed at addressing the commonwealth’s lawsuit crisis. The Pennsylvania court system consistently ranks among the most plaintiff-friendly, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas were declared the nation’s worst Judicial Hellholes for 2023/2024 by the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) …

Artificial Intelligence Enabled Cameras Prevent Medication Errors
A team of researchers has developed the first wearable camera system that detects potential errors in medication delivery via artificial intelligence (AI) technology. In a test reported in npj Digital Medicine last month, the camera system recognized and identified which medications were being drawn in busy clinical settings with high proficiency. The AI technology achieved 99.6% sensitivity and 98.8% specificity at detecting vial-swap errors …

Colorado Supreme Court to Investigate How Damage Cap Can Be Pierced
The Colorado Supreme Court recently agreed to review a medical liability case involving an almost $40 million judgment against Banner Health, specifically to investigate the legal standard for determining damages when the trial court determines the state's $1 million cap on total medical malpractice damages can be exceeded. Colorado’s Health Care Availability Act currently enforces a $1 million total cap on combined economic and noneconomic damages for medical liability lawsuits. However, the total cap can be pierced when, “upon good cause shown,” the court “determines that the present value of past and future economic damages would exceed such limitation and that the application of such limitation would be unfair”…

Think Tank Prescribes Medical Malpractice Act Revisions to Solve New Mexico’s Healthcare Worker Shortage
Think New Mexico, a 501(c)(3) think tank committed to improving the lives of New Mexicans, published a policy report last month making a series of recommendations to alleviate the state’s healthcare worker shortage. To address the high cost of medical liability insurance coverage that “discourages providers from locating [to New Mexico], and drives others away,” the Think New Mexico policy report recommends six reforms to the state’s Medical Malpractice Act …

Coverys Report Examines Drivers of Diagnostic Error in the ED
Coverys published its latest Dose of Insight report last month, providing a data-driven look at the drivers of diagnostic error. Diagnostic error contributed to 26% of all Coverys medical liability claims from 2019 through 2023 yet represented 41% of the total indemnity paid over the same period. These claims had an average indemnity of $627,000 per claim, almost 50% more expensive than the average indemnity for all other types of malpractice events …

Physicians With Multiple State Licenses Face Complex Disciplinary Risks
Being disciplined by a state medical board is one of the most daunting experiences a physician can face, with far-reaching consequences such as the loss of insurance plan participation, credentialing issues and even the revocation of board certification. The complexity of such disciplinary actions is heightened when physicians hold licenses in multiple states. Even if a physician’s license in a particular state is inactive and they haven't practiced there for years, that state may still impose disciplinary actions based on findings from another jurisdiction. Since professional discipline is governed individually by each state, physicians with licenses in multiple states must remain aware of the potential issues and know how best to defend both themselves and their licenses …

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