Kentucky Senate approves bill creating panels to review medical malpractice cases before they go to court

The Kentucky Senate recently approved a bill creating three-member panels to review medical malpractice claims before they can go to court. The Senate has passed this bill before, but it has not passed in the House, which is a good thing because the proposal is a horrible idea!  For malpractice victims in Kentucky's sake, let's hope the bill dies again.  The TortsProf blog has more on the story here.

The bill would create a three-member panel of medical experts to review claims of medical malpractice before a lawsuit can be brought to court. The bill’s supporters claim Kentucky’s lack of such a law is driving physicians out of state and driving up medical costs.  Multiple studies over the years, however, have demonstrated that these allegations are not supported by the evidence.  Lacking that evidence, the senator who sponsored the bill (a physician himself) has been quoted that the argument for the bill is “common-sense logic.”  I don't know about you, but I would rather base my vote on actual evidence than "common sense logic" claimed by someone who stands to benefit personally from the passing of the bill.