Report: Doctors won most trials

Friday, February 14, 2003

By MARK PERKISS

TRENTON - Patients won about a quarter of the 205 medical malpractice cases that were tried in New Jersey last year and received a median award of $300,000, raising questions about doctors' claims that caps on awards will reduce malpractice insurance premiums.

"These numbers clearly demonstrate that the current malpractice system is not a gold mine for patients who are victims of medical negligence and their attorneys," said Bruce Stern, president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America-New Jersey, which has been fighting caps on awards. "There is no need for a cap," Stern said.

The highest amount awarded by a jury was $9 million in a Bergen County case that was reduced by a judge after the trial to $1.4 million.

The largest award actually paid in New Jersey was $7.6 million in a Middlesex County case. By contrast, the smallest award was $2,500 in a Warren County case.

Figures accumulated by the state Administrative Office of the Courts show that of 205 malpractice cases tried last year, patients won 54, or 26 percent, while doctors prevailed in the vast majority of the trials.

The AOC report also shows 732 malpractice cases were settled before trial last year but gives no details of any of the amounts given to patients.

The report also gives no information about the nature of the cases settled or tried.

In Mercer County, patients won three of seven malpractice cases that were tried last year. The highest award given by a jury in the county was $1 million, while the lowest was $50,000.

In the one-year statewide snapshot, there were 17 awards that were $1 million or higher. In six cases the awards were $3 million or more.

Doctors, who have been pushing lawmakers to impose a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, commonly called "pain and suffering," which are designed to compensate patients beyond their medical bills and lost wages for injuries caused by malpractice, said the report does not paint an accurate picture.

"This report says nothing about the hundreds of cases that were settled last year with millions of dollars going to patients," said Robert Conroy, general counsel for the Medical Society of New Jersey. "When the trial lawyers tell you there isn't a problem because not many cases go to verdict, that's silly.

"The real problem is the number of wrongful suits that are filed and are clogging up the court system," he said. "What caps will do is address the root of the problem, which is the gambling mentality of trial lawyers trying to roll the dice and hit the jackpot."

The continuing debate on how to reform New Jersey's malpractice system is pitting doctors, who blame trial lawyers and large awards for skyrocketing premiums, against attorneys and consumer groups, who say the problem is bad doctors and insurance companies that have lost money on investments and are trying to recoup revenue.

Premiums for some risky specialties have shot up to more than $200,000 a year.

Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Woodbridge, co-chairman of the Senate Health Committee and a co-sponsor of a major malpractice reform bill, said the report puts doctors on shaky ground.

"This gives us facts that run counter to the doctors' rhetoric that there is a million-dollar claim paid every week and there are runaway juries in New Jersey," Vitale said.

"These numbers show that we have a system that works," he said. "If a case goes to trial, many more times than not the doctor wins, but when the plaintiff wins, it's for serious money because the injury or death is overwhelming.

"The Medical Society has misrepresented the depth of this problem, and as we get more and more information it supports that claim," he said.

Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Demarest, a dentist who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and is involved in developing malpractice reform legislation, said the report from the AOC is flawed.

"The vast majority of malpractice cases that are filed are settled (out of court) and never make it to trial, so a cap that would include pain and suffering payments would remove millions of dollars from the system and from doctors' liability."

Cardinale, along with Vitale, Sen. John Matheussen, R-Washington Township, Gloucester County, and other lawmakers are trying to forge a bill to reform New Jersey's malpractice system.

"We're trying to create a consensus, and it's difficult work," Vitale said. "There are a number of points of view that we are trying to accommodate."

He said whatever bill is approved needs to provide greater scrutiny and regulation on the practices of malpractice insurance companies.

On Monday, the Senate Commerce and Health committees considered a draft of a bill that would create a state fund to help pay high malpractice awards that would cap payouts for "pain and suffering" at $700,000, leaving doctors personally liable for additional damages. Under that draft, for awards that are less than $1 million, doctors would see their liability for pain and suffering payouts capped at $300,000.

Doctors said they opposed the fund because it does not limit the size of awards patients can receive. But they said they are willing to work with legislators to craft a bill.

NOTE: Contact Mark Perkiss at mperkiss@njtimes.com or at (609) 943-5727