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Malpractice Insurance
EXPERT ADVICE
Florida Supreme Court Overturns
Med Mal Damage Award Caps
BY MATT GRACEY
The Florida Supreme Court’s recent overturn of the caps on non-economic dam- its on non-economic damages that can be awarded
age awards in medical malpractice cases is the final nail in the coffin of tort in Florida.
reforms enacted in 2003. The frequency of lawsuits against doctors and correspon- 3. Get serious about risk management, it works!
dently the premiums for malpractice insurance in Florida since 2003 have Many insurers offer for free very comprehensive in-office assessments and a wide
dropped on average about 65% and the market has become healthy with many array of best practice recommendations, as well as astute articles on cutting edge
insurers competing for doctors’ business. As the premiums have steadily dropped ways to reduce your risk of being sued.
over the last decade and a half many insurers’ loss ratios have now increased up 4. Polish your communication skills! Poor skills lead to unhappy patients and
to and in many cases over the 100% combined loss ratio mark so most insurers lawsuits. Remember that patients do not care how much you know until they
have been needing rate increases to stop mounting losses or thin profit margins. know how much you care, as Sir William Osler so wisely said.
This court action will hasten the anticipated hardening of the marketplace and 5. Review and update your asset protection now, not after you have been sued.
doctors are sure to see higher prices for their coverage and fewer insurers bidding More plaintiff lawyers are now turning their focus back to medical malpractice
on their malpractice insurance in the near future. cases and our legislatures in Tallahassee and Washington seem incapable of help-
ing our doctors in any meaningful way on being sued less, so finding the way you
Five Steps I Recommend to Florida Doctors Now: can reduce risk in your own practice is the smartest move.
1. Review your insurance coverage and determine if your insurer is financially
secure enough to last through some years of deteriorating financial results. I pre- Matt Gracey, medical malpractice insurance
dict many of the A.M. Best unrated insurers and small risk retention groups specialist with Danna-Gracey, can be reached
(RRGs) will fail in the next five years or be forced to sell to the larger insurers. For at (800) 966-2120 or
those insured with captives and assessable RRGs I recommend you seriously now matt@dannagracey.com.
consider switching coverage to the more financially stable carriers.
2. Consider increasing your policy limits of liability since there are now no lim-
www.southfloridahospitalnews.com
Visit us on the web at www.southfloridahospitalnews.com
No exit strategy? Everything
you built could be at risk.
Kevin N. Fine, MHA
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You’re proud of the practice you built. But what about the future?
In this volatile environment, delaying exit planning may destroy the value you created.
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South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com October 2017 5
