Medical Malpractice in Your State limiting patients' rights does not improve care or lower insurance rates
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of Medical Malpractice | Victims | Lawsuits
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West Virginia
According to the American Medical Association, West Virginia is a
"crisis" state.
Reality Check:
West Virginia already caps noneconomic damages.
Who is Feeding the "Crisis" Myth in West Virginia? West
Virginia Citizen Action Group reveals corporate CEOs are behind
the misleading campaigns. Their companies stand to reap large financial
benefits if even more consumer and patient rights are repealed.
"The U.S. Chamber
of Commerce repeatedly states that our court system ranks as the
49th worst in the country. They claim we’re a “judicial
hellhole” with rampant lawsuit abuse. That ranking is based on
a sham study paid
for by the chamber every year to persuade lawmakers to repeal important
consumer-protection laws. The study surveys only in-house corporate
attorneys for companies that earn more than $100 million in profits.
How many of those attorneys have any real knowledge of our courts?...
"Looking at independent data compiled by a nonpartisan source,
one finds a very different analysis of West Virginia’s legal
system. According to a study by the National Center for State Courts,
West Virginia ranked 35th lowest among the states and the District
of Columbia in the number of tort cases filings in 2002 based on our
population. That means 33 states and D.C. had more cases per capita
than we do. That same study showed that in West Virginia there was
no growth in the number of cases filed from 2000 to 2002 — one
of only four states that showed zero growth or a decline in filings.
Where is the crisis?"
Source: "State's Court System Portrayed Inaccurately,"
Charleston Gazette, May 13, 2005
Price of Medical Malpractice
| Total of WV Health Providers' Medical Malpractice
Premiums Paid in 2002: |
$91.9 Million |
| Annual Costs Resulting from Preventable Medical
Errors in WV Hospitals: |
$109–$186 Million |
Source: Medical Malpractice Briefing Book: Challenging the Misleading
Claims of the Doctors' Lobby, Public Citizen Congress Watch, rev.
August 2004
Faces of Medical Malpractice
At the age of 25, Anne Marie Chaffins of Martinsburg, WW lost her
ability to have children as the result of medical malpractice. While
going through a routine procedure to remove abnormal cervical cells,
her entire cervix was removed, resulting in the need for a complete
hysterectomy.
Contact AAJ Media Relations
for details.
Read about other victims
of medical malpractice in West Virginia.
Number of Personal Injury Lawsuits
There is no litigation explosion. The National Center for State Courts
Recently reported that:
-
Tort filings have declined by 5% since 1993. Contract filings,
meanwhile, which are more likely to involve businesses than tort
cases, rose by 21% over the same period.1
-
Automobile tort filings, which make up the majority of all tort
claims, have fallen by 5% by 1993 and 14% since their high in
1996.1
-
Medical malpractice filings per 100,000 population have fallen
1% since 1998.2
-
In 22 of the 30 states that NCSC examined population-adjusted
tort findings declined from 1992 to 2001. The average change in
tort filings across all 30 states was a 15% decrease.1
Sources:
- Examining the Work of State Courts, 2003, National Center for
State Courts (NCSC) 2004
- Medical Malpractice Filings per 100,000 Population in 11 and
17 States, 1993-2002, National Center for State Courts, 2004 (unpublished,
on file with author)
Updated June 2005
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