Positive Physicians Insurance Co. Names Annie Matincheck Senior Vice President of Underwriting

April 20, 2022 by matray

Positive Physicians Insurance Co., a medical professional liability insurer serving hundreds of healthcare practices across 10 states, announced Annie Matincheck has joined its senior leadership team as senior vice president of underwriting.

Matincheck has more than 23 years of experience in the insurance industry, with most of her focus in medical liability. She has previously held leadership positions in the areas of underwriting, business development, marketing/brand and strategic projects with both national and regional carriers. Prior to joining PPI, Matincheck was an associate vice president of business development for the NORCAL Group where she oversaw the marketing, brand and agency services functions.

“We are beyond excited to have Annie join our team,” said Kim Casteel, Positive Physicians chief operating officer. “Her knowledge of the MPL industry will be an incredible asset for PPI. We look forward to her experience and leadership driving us as we continue to grow and change the landscape of the MPL industry.”  

Chairman W. Stancil Starnes to Retire From ProAssurance Board of Directors

April 19, 2022 by matray

ProAssurance Corp. announced that W. Stancil (Stan) Starnes, executive chairman of the Board of Directors, will retire from the ProAssurance board at the end of his current term and is not standing for re-election. Starnes will serve his remaining term as a director and executive chairman, which expires at the Annual Meeting Shareholders to be held on May 24, 2022.

“On behalf of our entire organization and the stakeholders we serve, I want to thank Stan for his visionary leadership and deep commitment to our insureds, our investors, our employees and the larger medical community,” said Ned Rand, ProAssurance president and CEO. “Stan’s support, encouragement and mentorship have been indispensable to me. We all wish him the best in his upcoming retirement.”

Starnes has been a member of the ProAssurance Board since September 2007 and has served as chairman, then executive chairman, since October 2008. In addition, Starnes served as chief executive officer of the company from July 2007 to July 2019, overseeing a period in which ProAssurance completed seven acquisitions, diversified its product offerings and expanded its geographical reach.

Kaiser Arbitrator Awards Injured Child $25.6 million

April 19, 2022 by matray

Attorneys for nine-year-old Jayden Vargas recently obtained an arbitration award of $25,638,058.93 for their client from Los Angeles arbitrator Robert Hanger for the negligence of 10 healthcare providers at Kaiser Fontana Hospital.

Vargas was born with a congenital bowel condition called atresia which was surgically repaired shortly after his birth. According to the Vargas’ attorneys, if he had been properly treated, he would have led a normal life. Instead, he was force-fed formula which led to a rupture of his bowels, sepsis and emergency surgery. Vargas’ blood pressure dropped to critical levels over prolonged periods of time, leading to a lack of oxygenated blood to his brain, which resulted in a profound brain injury that requires around-the-clock care.

According to Vargas’ attorneys, the more than $25.6 million arbitration award is one of the highest medical negligence awards for a single patient against the Kaiser healthcare entities.

Medical Liability Monitor April 2022 Issue Highlights

April 8, 2022 by matray

The just-published April 2022 issue of Medical Liability Monitor features the following articles and more. Click here to subscribe today.

AM Best Maintains Negative Outlook for MPL Segment in 2022
AM Best maintained its negative outlook for the U.S. medical professional liability (MPL) insurance segment in 2022. In a Market Segment Outlook published last month, the global credit ratings agency cited the ongoing pressures of a depressed demand, rising loss cost trends, an increase in high-severity claims, social inflation and diminishing reserve redundancies as justification for continued concern …

AMA Analysis of Medical Liability Monitor Annual Rate Survey Data Indicate ‘Hard Market’ Pricing in Certain States
An American Medical Association analysis of Medical Liability Monitor’s aggregate medical professional liability insurance rate data found that, for the third-consecutive year, a larger portion of premiums increased (29.5%) than in any year since the last medical malpractice insurance hard market in the early 2000s. Historic data shows the proportion of premiums that increased in 2018 almost doubled in 2019 — from 13.7% to 26.5% — and reached a 15-year high (31.1%) in 2020 ...

Premium Growth Leads Positive Year for MPL Specialty Writers
An exclusive analysis of a composite of MPL specialty writers for Medical Liability Monitor by Milliman Inc. indicates direct written premium increased by 9.8% to $6.2 billion in 2021, its highest level since 2008 and largest increase since 2004. After a short pause in rate action due to the pandemic, last year saw significant premium growth as MPL companies took rate increases and decreased average credits/discounts in response to the continued deterioration of their combined ratios …

Constellation Announces Agreement to Acquire Michigan Professional Insurance Exchange
Constellation announced it has entered into an agreement with Michigan Professional Insurance Exchange (MPIE) to acquire MPIE’s business, assets and liabilities. MPIE employs more than 30 people and has annualized gross written premiums of approximately $23 million. The loss portfolio transfer agreement is contingent upon receipt of all required regulatory approvals, satisfaction of closing conditions and approval by MPIE’s member insureds. The two entities anticipate closing in four to five months …

EmPRO to Enter New Jersey Market this Summer
EmPRO Insurance Co. announced plans to expand into the New Jersey market last month. The New York-based insurer of medical liability has applied for admitted status with the New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance with the goal of issuing policies beginning this summer. EmPRO attributes its first planned expansion outside New York to recent success. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers, administered by its attorney-in-fact PRIMMA LLC, EmPRO reported the two companies grew their surplus by $29 million last year, achieved $16 million in underwriting gains and posted a 78.9% combined ratio for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021 …

Missouri Considers Shrinking Its Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims
Legislators in both chambers of the Missouri General Assembly are currently debating bills to shrink the state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five to two years. Only Maine and South Dakota have longer statutes of limitations for personal injury claims at six years …

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Jury Awards Injured Baby $25.4M in KC Metro’s Largest Medical Malpractice Verdict

April 6, 2022 by matray

A jury in Jackson County, Mo., awarded a record $25.4 million medical negligence judgment todau against Kelli Sandri, MD, for failing to properly treat a mother in labor. The child suffered permanent birth injuries due to a lack of oxygen.

After a two-week trial, the jury determined Sandri violated her duty of care when improperly supervising a student doctor with respect to the administration of Pitocin medication used to speed up labor. Fetal monitoring equipment demonstrated more than six hours of excessive Pitocin administration, resulting in a loss of oxygen to the baby’s brain that caused cerebral palsy.

The jury awarded $18,972,000 for ongoing medical care and damages for the plaintiffs, as well as $5 million for past and future pain, suffering and disfigurement. The Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service referred to the verdict as the highest for medical malpractice in the metropolitan area’s history.

MedMal Direct Names Bryan Carter COO, Director

March 29, 2022 by matray

MedMal Direct Insurance Co. announced it has promoted Bryan Carter to chief operating officer and director, effective immediately. According to the company, Carter’s appointment follows the company’s significant premium growth under his leadership of the sales and marketing division.

“I have known Bryan as a colleague for over twenty years and he is a seasoned and proven medical professional liability and healthcare sales leader that achieves results,” said Marc D. Hammett, MedMal Direct president and chief executive officer. “Additionally, Bryan is a thoughtful and strategic leader, and I am excited to see how his insights will propel our company to new levels of operational efficiency, growth and profitability. Since he joined our team in 2018, both [MedMal Direct] and our affiliate, CorePRO Insurance, LLC, have steadily grown revenues year-over-year. Bryan is an enthusiastic and intuitive manager, and I am eager to see him grow into this role.”  

Curi Board of Directors Approves More Than $21M in Financial Distributions to Members, Announces New Board Member

March 24, 2022 by matray

Curi announced that its Board of Directors has approved the largest annual allocations to the company’s Legacy Fund and Member Dividend programs in nearly a decade, signaling significant growth and momentum for the firm and its membership. According to Curi, its Legacy Fund and Member Dividend programs provide a meaningful financial benefit to its members and their practices.

“Last year was a banner year for Curi as we continued to grow geographically and expand the range of products and services that we offer physicians and medical practices,” said Jason Sandner, Curi chief executive officer. “The Legacy Fund and Member Dividend programs are just two of the many ways that we continue to drive toward our mission of helping physicians in medicine, business, and life. We’re proud to share our success back with the physician-members who own this company.”

The Board approved a $14 million allocation to Legacy Fund accounts for 2022, bringing the total allocation to $151.6 million since 2009. The Legacy Fund represents savings accounts for member physicians and medical practices, funded by a portion of Curi’s net income. Cash balances that accumulate in Legacy Fund accounts are paid to account holders upon designated events, including qualifying retirement. Over the last five years, allocations to The Legacy Fund have averaged 10% of annual premium paid.

The Board also approved the disbursement of $7 million for a cash Member Dividend for 2022. Curi has paid out a cumulative $51.7 million in dividends since 2008. Dividends have averaged 5% of members’ annual medical professional liability premium paid over the last five years. These dividends will be paid out to qualifying physicians and practices in April.

Curi members also elected Anuj Gupta, MD, of Peachtree Orthopedics in Atlanta, GA, to the Curi Board of Directors. In addition, Curi’s Jason Newton was named General Counsel and Secretary for all Curi companies.

MagMutual Names Ed Lynch New President, Sallie Graves Chief Operating Officer

March 15, 2022 by matray

MagMutual Insurance Cos. recently appointed two senior leaders to new executive positions.

Ed Lynch, who most recently served as chief corporate development officer, has been named president of MagMutual Insurance Cos. Lynch joined MagMutual in 2012, leading profitable breakout growth, significant national expansion and numerous acquisitions for the company.

Sallie Graves was promoted to MagMutual’s chief operating officer. In more than seven years at MagMutual, where she first served as chief information officer, Graves has been responsible for accelerating the company’s technology transformation and increasing operational efficiency in the organization.

“During their careers at MagMutual, Sallie and Ed have been great leaders who have made noteworthy contributions to help us fulfill our considerable ambitions for product and process improvement and growth,” said Neil Morrell, MagMutual chief executive officer. “We still have much we want to achieve as we expand both our geographic footprint and our services. I am looking forward to working with Sallie, Ed and our entire leadership team as we continue down that path.”

“Our success at MagMutual is due to the collective effort of each and every staff member to constantly improve our already industry-leading service to policy owners,” said Joe Wilson, MD, MagMutual executive chairperson. “Ed and Sallie have developed and led exceptional teams to outstanding achievements at MagMutual. I’m happy to honor and recognize their contributions with these appointments.”

COPIC Medical Foundation Announces 2022 Grant Recipients

March 11, 2022 by matray

The COPIC Medical Foundation announced that — for the second year in a row — its 2022 funding cycle focused on initiatives designed to reduce fragmentation across care settings. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization affiliated with COPIC family of companies, the COPIC Medical Foundation supports organizations and initiatives that improve health care outcomes, patient safety and quality of care.

A top concern in patient safety, breakdowns in care from a fragmented healthcare system can lead to readmissions, missed diagnoses, medication errors, delayed treatment, duplicative testing and procedures, and reduction in quality of care leading to general patient and provider dissatisfaction.

The 2022 group of COPIC Medical Foundation grantees include five organizations of varied size and scope that impact healthcare in communities across the country. The COPIC Medical Foundation awarded $680,000 in grant money this year. Grants will support the following projects:

• Bryan Health Connect (Nebraska) to expand Bamboo Health clinical event notification system to additional locations across Nebraska.


• West Mountain Regional Health Alliance (Colorado) for the Community Resource Network West Mountain, a social information exchange platform in western Coloradothat will facilitate a care coordination effort to support individuals experiencing homelessness with coordination by hospitals, health and behavioral health providers, community organizations, and government agencies.


• Providence Portland Medical Foundation (Oregon) and the Oregon Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Registry will partner to build a bi-directional interface which integrates Providence'sEpic electronic health record with the Registry.


• Minnesota Medical Association Foundation's (Minnesota) Project EHCO focuses on the challenge of transitioning youth with medical complexity to adult care.


• Children's Hospital Colorado (Colorado) will implement the ImPACT Navigation Hub, which provides comprehensive care coordination for complex pediatric patients as they transition to adult care.

“The COPIC Medical Foundation is proud to support those in health care who are making a difference and pushing innovative ideas forward,” said Meredith Hintze, Executive Director of the COPIC Medical Foundation. “Our grant funding helps support solutions that can improve patient safety in ways that can be replicated across health care and/or create additional opportunities for expanded applications.”

Medical Liability Monitor March 2022 Issue Highlights

March 7, 2022 by matray

The just-published March 2022 issue of Medical Liability Monitor features the following articles and more. Click here to subscribe today.

Doctors, Politicians Battle Over COVID Disinformation, Standard of Care
A growing number of state medical boards have been pushing back against the minority of healthcare professionals spreading dangerous COVID-19 disinformation and prescribing unproven coronavirus treatments. They are increasingly meeting resistance from conservative lawmakers …

Battle Over California’s MICRA Cap on Noneconomic Damages Heats Up
Consumer advocacy and plaintiff attorney groups are squaring off against physicians and healthcare interests over California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). The 1975 medical liability tort law capped noneconomic damages at $250,000, created a tiered cap for attorney fees, established a one-year statute of limitations and codified periodic payments for jury awards ...

Kentucky Legislators Want to Amend Constitution for Damage Cap
Kentucky lawmakers last month introduced legislation to start the process of amending Section 54 of the commonwealth’s Constitution in order to give the General Assembly authority to limit non-economic damages for personal injury lawsuits and provide statutes of limitation …

Iowa House Advances Bill with Hard Noneconomic Damage Cap
The Labor Committee of the Iowa House of Representatives advanced legislation last month intended to combat the state’s worker shortage by reforming unemployment and tort laws. The bill is divided into two sections: one relates to unemployment insurance and the other would create a $1 million hard cap for noneconomic damages in medical liability and commercial motor vehicle claims. Gov. Kim Reynolds listed medical malpractice reform as a priority in her Condition of the State address in January …

New Report: Medical Liability Programs, Reforms Can Help States Ease Shortage of Rural Healthcare Providers
Many rural communities across the United States lack access to healthcare, but states have tools to help relieve rural care shortages and support healthcare professionals, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. And the left-leaning public policy research and advocacy organization says medical malpractice programs and reforms can play a significant role in alleviating those shortages …

Subscribe today to get this issue (as well as the 2021 Annual Rate Survey at no additional cost).