Apr 24, 2008
Tennessee Medical Association Staff

The long-debated amendment to organized medicine’s medical liability reform legislation has now passed both the Senate and the House of Representative and is on its way to Governor Bredesen for his expected signature. 
 
The bill will require attorneys to file a certificate of good faith in order to reduce the number of medical malpractice claims that end in no payment to the plaintiff. The TMA touts this as a critical step toward improving access to health care and lowering costs in Tennessee. 

“This legislation will improve Tennessee’s liability environment by addressing the significant problem of meritless lawsuits,” said newly-installed TMA President Robert D. Kirkpatrick, MD. “By cutting down on the glut of unwarranted lawsuits and the associated costs that clog our state’s legal system, we will see a reduction in the cost of providing patient care and help Tennessee become a more attractive state to live and work for physicians in years to come.”
 
“This is the most significant reform to the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Act in more than a generation,” echoed longtime Senate sponsor Mark Norris (R-Collierville). “It strikes at the heart of wasteful and costly litigation. Eighty percent of the lawsuits filed in Tennessee lack sufficient merit to proceed. They are thrown out of court, but not before costing providers valuable dollars that should be devoted to health care for individual Tennesseans. This gives Tennesseans hope for affordable health care and restores confidence in providers that they can invest in their patients’ care rather than lawsuits,” he added.
 
“This is landmark legislation,” stated House sponsor Rep. Doug Overbey (R-Maryville). “When we look back five to 10 years down the road, I believe everyone will view this medical malpractice legislation as a keystone in bringing common sense reform to our civil justice system.”
 
“This is a crucial step on the continuing road to comprehensive reform,” added Dr. Kirkpatrick. “We understand that to achieve significant changes to law, you sometimes have to accept incremental steps leading in the right direction.”
 
State data shows more than 80 percent of medical malpractice claims filed end in no payouts to plaintiffs, yet increase healthcare costs for all patients and stress Tennessee’s fragile medical delivery system. Notable changes in the state’s medical liability laws as a result of this legislation include:

• Written notice to medical providers sixty (60) days before a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed;
• Early attorney certification that a qualified medical expert has concluded there is good cause to pursue a claim against each defendant;
• Acceleration of the process of obtaining medical records pertinent to medical malpractice cases; and
• Possible penalties for attorneys who fail to comply with the certification process.
• The amendment did not include changes to the “locality rule,” a major point of contention during the 2007 session, or any provision for limits on non-economic damages long sought by reform proponents and in place in 32 other states.

“We are very satisfied with the manner in which the House reconsidered this piece of legislation, given the apparent demise of the bill last session. We extend our gratitude to the bill sponsors, Rep. Doug Overbey and Sen. Mark Norris, for their perseverance and dedication to the patients and physicians in Tennessee, and to Rep. Rob Briley, who worked with TMA officials to craft language acceptable to all parties,” said F. Michael Minch, MD, former chair of the TMA Board of Trustees and current chair of the TMA MLR (Medical Liability Reform) Steering Committee.
 
“We firmly believe this change to our medical liability laws will help assure access to care for Tennessee patients by encouraging the great doctors we have to stay here. We also believe these changes will allow Tennessee to attract new physicians to address physician supply issues across the state,” said Dr. Minch.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 1:25 pm and is filed under In The News.
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