THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CRISIS….Public Citizen, a consumer group founded by Ralph Nader, helpfully takes a look at the latest statistics on medical malpractice for 2002 compared to 2001. The highlights:
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Total number of payouts (both judgments and settlements): down 8.2%.
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Total dollar amount of payouts: down 6.9%.
When adjusted for inflation: down 11.2%. -
Average payout: up 1.4%.
When adjusted for inflation: down 3.3% -
Number of payouts over $1 million: down 11.5%
It’s kinda hard to see the crisis, isn’t it? And harder still to see the case for a massive intervention in the malpractice insurance market from the current gang of free market fundamentalists running the country.
