Date: January 11, 2012

In a Times-Tribune Letter to the Editor published Dec. 26, 2011, David Fallk, Esq., President of The Committee for Justice for All, addressed the misconception that medical malpractice insurance rates are the fault of malpractice lawsuits. It is important that this point-of-view be understood as mistakes do happen every day. In fact, Diane Sawyer recently did a program on the commonality of medical mistakes in hospitals. We encourage you to read Mr. Fallk’s letter which we have included on our website for your convenience.

Misdiagnosis on 'liability climate'

Editor: Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, medical providers continue to propagate the myth that their exorbitant insurance rates are the fault of malpractice victims who file lawsuits. In a recent article about ongoing issues with access to care ("Doctor shortage continues," Dec. 12), an official of the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania once again misled your readers about the state's "liability climate."

Last year, liability insurance companies charged the state's doctors and hospitals a quarter of a billion dollars more in premiums than they paid in claims to malpractice victims, according to the 2010-2011 annual report of the state Insurance Department. Since 2002, the medical liability insurance industry has raked in $1.75 billion more in premiums than it paid in claims. Despite the obvious windfall, insurers have done virtually nothing to lower premiums for doctors. Meanwhile, the state's MCARE Fund, which provides additional insurance coverage to doctors, has paid 60 percent less in claims since 2003.

Statistics compiled by the state Supreme Court show that the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed in the commonwealth has plummeted 45 percent since 2002. Last year, only 1,491 malpractice lawsuits were filed in the state, even though 7,508 patients were injured or killed by medical errors in Pennsylvania hospitals, according to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority.

So the facts demonstrate that while patients still face a significant risk of injury or death in Pennsylvania's hospitals, the "medical liability climate" is better than ever -at least for the insurance companies. If medical providers continue to feel plagued by insurance rates, they need to get the diagnosis right: They don't have a lawsuit problem, they have an insurance problem. And that's no myth.

ATTORNEY DAVID I. FALLK

PRESIDENT,

THE COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE FOR ALL, KINGSTON

The Committee for Justice for All is a lawyer-funded Northeast Pennsylvania advocacy group.