Rumored Malpractice Legal Fee Rollback Makes Docs Ill

Yesterday, the Post reported that Governor Paterson was close to rolling back fees on legal fees from medical malpractice awards. Currently, the law limits "payments at 30% for the first $250,000 in judgments, 25% for the next $250,000, 20% for the following $500,000, 15% for the next $250,000 and, finally, at 10% for amounts over $1.25 million," but the proposal would lift the caps and allow a 33% commission on awards. Today, a Staten Island pediatrician tells the Post, "It's going to drive the premiums up and drive doctors out of the state, where the [insurance] rates are lower and where they can make a decent living," pointing out his premiums have gone up 50% in 10 years. The Post notes that a trial lawyers' lobby donated $2 million to legistlators, plus: "It would generate millions of dollars in windfall earnings for some of the state's most politically influential law firms including Weitz & Luxenberg, where Silver is employed. It would also benefit lawyers at Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, the Long Island firm where Paterson's father, Basil, is a partner."

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By Jen Chung in News on March 26, 2009 2:02 PM

Comments [rss]

medicalnegli

Medical Malpractice is very badness knack of severity so always should each person far for it because that do bad the anyone patient so all people should avoid it.

Hawk

whoever said -- "It's going to drive the premiums up and drive doctors out of the state" -- is completely clueless.

The amount of the percentage of any award given to a plaintiff that will be shared with the plaintiff's attorney has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the amount of money that a defendant will have to pay a plaintiff. In other words, if the percentage amount is changed, the amount the plaintiff's attorney will get will likewise change, but the amount the defendant will have to pay the plaintiff will not change under any circumstance.

So, for example, if a plaintiff is awarded 100K and the attorney's percentage is 33 and 1/3 percent, the attorney will get 33K. If a plaintiff is awarded the same 100K but the attorney's percentage is 25 percent, the attorney will get 25K. In either example the defendant is still paying the same amount -- 100k. The only difference is how that 100K is distributed between plaintiff and attorney.

So, because any change in the amount that an attorney will get from the plaintiff's share of an award has absolutely nothing to do with the amount of the award (the amount the defendant will pay the plaintiff), the argument that this change will somehow "drive the premiums" up is ludicrous. This change has absolutely nothing to do with defendants and only affects how much plaintiffs have to give to their attorneys.

Bottom line: the entire premise of this news article is utter nonsense.

ANGRYGOD11

If the lawyers can get a bigger share of the awards, that encourage more lawyers to seek more cases for more awards. The incentives encourage more lawyers into this field.

The net result: More medical malpractice suits.

SP

"the entire premise of this news article is utter nonsense."

The same can be said for 99.9% of the everything the Post publishes.

Felix Hoenikker

Die, Sheldon, die.

felixthecat2

http://unsexy.thephoenix.com/unsexy/2009/20.aspx#TOPCONTENT

Gov Paterson one of top 100 Unsexiest men. teehehe

fugothamist

shelly silver

no conflict of interest there

f*cking scumbag

Dan Wong 71

Open your eyes! This is one of the very root cause why healthcare has become unaffordable for the rest us. Opportunistic lawyers and greedy 'malpractice victims' burdening decent healthcare practitioners with extortion-level malpractice insurance premiums.

Are we going to let these individuals 'sue' our healthcare system into annihilation?

fugothamist

disguisting

i'm really starting to hate ny

NannyState

It's simple: "pain and suffering" awards are not taxable but legal fees are. This is Paterson tapping another deep pocket to plug his big 'ol hairy revenue hole.