Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New study on certificates of merit in med mal cases concludes the obvious

Long time readers of this blog know that I have argued many times that the real purpose of most tort reform initiatives is not to eliminate frivolous lawsuits (since we already have multiple mechanisms in place for that) but legitimate ones.  This is why I have long advocated against the imposition of a requirement for a certificate of merit in medical malpractice cases.  This is also why many states have invalidated such requirements.

The issue is now back in the news because, a new Associated Press review of medical malpractice case in Connecticut has found that, although the law requiring a certificate of merit was supposedly aimed at preventing frivolous lawsuits and reducing high malpractice insurance rates, it has resulted in the dismissal of many legitimate lawsuits. 

This, obviously, is not news to anyone who has been paying serious attention to the topic, but you can read more about it here and here.

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