Professional Liability Insurance Crisis

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The Professional Liability Insurance Crisis Could Affect Your Ability to See Your Orthopaedic Surgeon
In some parts of the country, orthopaedic surgeons and other physicians are closing their practices, retiring early or leaving their state due to the unavailability or unaffordability of medical liability insurance.
Medical liability insurance protects doctors in medical malpractice liability suits. Medical liability insurers are raising their prices or not providing physicians with coverage because their costs have been increasing while their revenues have been decreasing. The increasing costs have been caused by a tremendous rise in the awards granted in some medical malpractice lawsuits and by the cost of defending against frivolous suits. In some of these cases, the amount of the awards is way beyond the extent of the injury that the patient has suffered. Insurers also have been hurt by the downturn in the economy.
The AAOS believes that injured patients should be fairly compensated for their damages. When malpractice occurs, orthopaedic surgeon and other physicians should be held accountable and awards in lawsuits should be high enough to compensate the injured patient for his or her medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering.
However, when injured patients are given awards that are disproportionate to the extent of their injuries, it not only drives up the cost of medical liability insurance for doctors, but it can increase the costs of health care for everyone. It can also make it harder to get health care because physicians are sometimes forced out of practice when they either can't afford insurance or obtain it at any price.
The following is background information on the crisis and how it can affect your ability to receive care from your orthopaedic surgeon.