Maryland's tort reform

Lawmakers in Maryland overrode the Governor's veto on a medical malpractice reform bill this past week. The bill was supported by trial lawyers, the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), and the Maryland Medical Society (MedChi). What did it take to get both doctors and lawyers to agree on tort reform?

The bill passed by the Assembly would limit pain and suffering awards in wrongful-death cases at $800,000, require mediation before a malpractice suit could be filed, make a doctor's apology to a patient inadmissible in court and set up stricter standards for expert witnesses.

So, they limited doctors' financial risk from frivolous lawsuits (the real benefit of caps), potentially reduced the expense of dealing with frivolous lawsuits AND reduced expenses for patients who truly are victims of malpractice with mediation, and encouraged a more honest relationships between doctors and patients. It also subjects increases in malpractice insurance premiums to further reviews and even limits. Not a bad plan. An even better plan would combine Maryland's reform with a review board made up of doctors and lawyers that must approve all malpractice cases before they can be filed, automatic sanctions for lawyers after their third case is rejected by this review board, and automatic reviews of medical licenses for doctors after their third malpractice payout (either in a jury award or in a settlement).