May 16, 2022 by matray

The May 2022 issue of Medical Liability Monitor features the following articles and more. Click here to subscribe today.

Corporate Acquisitions Accelerating Surge in Employed Physicians
New research from the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI), a nonprofit physician advocacy organization, in conjunction with the healthcare consultancy Avalere Health, indicates almost three quarters (73.9%) of all U.S. physicians were employed by a hospital, health system or other corporate entity as of Jan. 1, 2022, up from 69% at the same point last year. And researchers noted the employed-physician trend accelerated drastically after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — with 83,000 physicians having transitioned from independent practice since March 2020. …

California Healthcare Providers, Trial Attorneys, Legislators Reach Deal to Increase MICRA Cap
Stakeholders in the decades-long battle over California’s noneconomic damages cap for medical liability jury verdicts announced they have reached a compromise between healthcare, legal and consumer advocates on legislation to modernize the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). Signed into law in 1975, MICRA established a $250,000 cap on medical malpractice awards for things like pain and suffering, which proponents argued was necessary to balance compensatory justice for injured patients with important legal and financial protections for healthcare providers. The cap has never been adjusted for inflation ...

Virtual or Hybrid Trials, Arbitration Expected to Continue Post-Pandemic
The national law firm Wilson Elser LLP expects virtual and hybrid jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations to continue as the nation and its court systems transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prediction came during the 42-location firm’s recent National Mock Trial Training Program, where senior partners train Wilson Elser’s next generation of trial attorneys …

New York High Court to Determine Who Gets MLMIC Demutualization Money
The New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York, heard oral arguments last month for a set of related cases questioning who is the rightful beneficiary of monies generated by the demutualization of Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co. (MLMIC). What’s the question at hand? While the healthcare providers were listed as the policyholders on paper, their employers argue that because the medical practice paid the premium, they are, in fact, the policyholders and are entitled to the demutualization proceeds. The employed healthcare providers counter that the medical liability insurance coverage was part of their work compensation and they deserve the proceeds. …

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