The medical malpractice insurance rate has dramatically increased for the health care provider. This is due to a lot of things that have taken place in the world today. This includes money awarded to people who have been involved in a terrorist attack, economy sinking, and international hostilities. Amongst these factors, there has been a steady increase in the money juries awarded to plaintiffs who are placing claims of injury by a doctor who conducted a medical error.
Because of the medical malpractice insurance rate, there are some providers who have said they can't even afford to serve doctors. When this happened, at least forty thousand doctors in at least 45 states have been forced to look for insurance in other areas, by other providers.
Why Insurance Companies Feel They Can No Longer Accept Malpractice Insurance
One of the major problems with malpractice insurance is that lawyers and attorneys have raised their rates. Covering their services has become a major problem and forced providers of medical malpractice insurance rate to increase. Many of the jurors in trials want the plaintiff to be awarded one million dollars, and over the past it was more geared toward $650,000. This price went up at least thirty percent over just one year, and has contributed to the rise and fall of medical malpractice insurance rate problems.
Another major problem occurred a few years ago when a Philadelphia jury awarded over one hundred million dollars between four doctors and two hospitals for the birth of a premature baby. Even though some states have caps on how much money someone can receive for an injury, some jurors are awarding the plaintiffs double that amount.
The Bottom Line With Medical Malpractice Insurance Rate Situations
The bottom line is more people than ever before are seeking out legal recourse against the medical profession, and the jury is awarding huge sums of money to the plaintiff, even if there is a cap on the amount that can be received. This is making it more difficult to be able to pay these debts, especially with the world the way that it is today. Medical malpractice claims are not the only type of claims being made, but they are huge in comparison to some of the other claims.
We need to have a common sense of guidelines for the insurance providers to ensure that they can keep offering insurance to medical providers. Without the insurance companies, we are not protected from the wrong doings of the medical profession.