CHARLESTON, W. Va., April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctors believe that frivolous lawsuits are increasing the cost of healthcare and West Virginia patients are paying the price, according to a survey released today by the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) and SickofLawsuits.org.
The study, which polled physicians practicing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia, clearly demonstrates that doctors recognize how medical lawsuits hurt our healthcare system. In West Virginia, the majority of physicians surveyed believe that practicing medicine in areas ATRA has designated as Judicial Hellholes(TM) negatively affects their ability to practice medicine and increases the cost of patient care.
“This study suggests that despite recent reforms, healthcare lawsuits continue to harm West Virginia’s healthcare system,” said ATRA President Sherman Joyce. “Physicians report continuing concerns about lawsuit exposure - forcing physicians to limit services, retire early, or move to states with more stable liability environments. The healthcare litigation crisis is threatening access to care for patients.”
Judicial Hellholes are state trial court jurisdictions where ATRA believes that impartial justice is unavailable. ATRA believes that personal injury lawyers seek out these jurisdictions and file cases there with the expectation that they will receive a large reward, a favorable precedent, or both. In West Virginia, ATRA has identified Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, Marshall and Kanawha Counties as Judicial Hellhole jurisdictions.
Six key areas of concern were reflected in the survey of West Virginia physicians:
-- 96 percent report that they are concerned about the effect of medical litigation on the practice of medicine. -- 87 percent report that they have changed the way they practice medicine because of litigation concerns, and 40 percent report that they have changed the way they practice “a lot.” -- 93 percent believe that Judicial Hellholes increase medical malpractice insurance costs. -- 46 percent say that personal injury lawyers target jurisdictions known for large settlements; eighty-three percent say these jurisdictions negatively affect their ability to practice medicine. -- 95 percent say that inflammatory advertising by personal injury lawyers drives up the number of lawsuits; 62 percent agree that such advertising can result in patients failing to seek appropriate medical care. -- 98 percent believe that unnecessary litigation increases patient care costs; 76 percent say it increases costs “a lot.”
“Fear of litigation is hurting West Virginia healthcare,” said Bill Bissett, Executive Director of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA). “Studies of this nature prove what common sense and experience are already telling us. In the last twenty years, personal injury lawyers have found litigation against physicians, other healthcare providers and pharmaceutical manufacturers to be a lucrative growth area in their practices. Unfortunately, while these frivolous lawsuits enrich personal injury lawyers, they adversely impact both the quality and the cost of healthcare for the rest of us,” he noted.
The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) and SickofLawsuits.org commissioned the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut to conduct an impartial series of list-based scientific telephone surveys with physicians concerning medical litigation issues. Interviews were conducted in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia from December 2, 2003 to January 16, 2004 among Internists, General Practitioners, OB-GYNs, Cardiologists, and Gastroenterologists selected from an American Medical Association list. For more information, or to receive a copy of the report findings, please visit ATRA’s Web site, http://www.atra.org/.
Concerned citizens can visit http://www.sickoflawsuits.org/, a Website that provides information on the healthcare litigation epidemic that is negatively effecting America’s healthcare system.
About the American Tort Reform Association
Founded in 1986, the American Tort Reform Association ATRA is a broad based, bipartisan coalition of more than 300 businesses, corporations, municipalities, associations, and professional firms who support civil justice reform.
About SickofLawsuits.org
SickofLawsuits.org is a grassroots campaign designed and supported by Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) groups and other civil justice reform groups across the country to help raise awareness of the healthcare litigation epidemic affecting all Americans. CALA groups are locally based, non-profit community coalitions dedicated to making the public better aware of the cost and consequences of lawsuit abuse. This grassroots response to junk lawsuits and the abuse of our legal system enjoys the strong and active support of small business people, consumers and taxpayers across the state.
Web Sites: http://www.atra.org http://www.SickofLawsuits.org
West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse
CONTACT: Bill Bissett of West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse,+1-304-556-9108
