{"id":459,"date":"2010-07-23T14:23:31","date_gmt":"2010-07-23T20:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cerebral-palsy-medicalmalpractice.com\/blog\/?p=459"},"modified":"2010-07-23T14:23:31","modified_gmt":"2010-07-23T20:23:31","slug":"new-york-tests-program-to-curb-medical-malpractice-costs-but-will-it-be-fair-to-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cerebral-palsy-medicalmalpractice.com\/blog\/2010\/07\/new-york-tests-program-to-curb-medical-malpractice-costs-but-will-it-be-fair-to-patients.html","title":{"rendered":"New York Tests Program To Curb Medical Malpractice Costs, But Will It Be Fair To Patients?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Five\u00a0New York City hospitals will be\u00a0taking part in a pilot program that aims to\u00a0reduce medical malpractice costs through mediation, avoiding trial, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.\u00a0One of the cornerstones\u00a0of the program is for hospitals to admit their mistakes and to offer potential defendants settlements early on.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052748703467304575383501123709186.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories<\/a><\/p>\r\n

While I believe this is\u00a0an intriguing initiative that could help\u00a0curb medical errors at hospitals,\u00a0I share some of the concerns raised in the story by the president of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, Nichlas Timko.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The issues are will the early disclosure and settlement program essentially let negligent doctors and hospitals off the hook for their mistakes, and will\u00a0this system take advantage\u00a0of patients who don’t retain counsel.<\/p>\r\n

The pilot program, which starts in the fall,\u00a0is getting $3 million in federal funding, and “aims to cut the $1.4 billion\u00a0spent annually in New York State on medical-malpractice premiums,” according to The Journal.<\/p>\r\n

The participating hospitals are Beth Israel Medical Center,\u00a0Mount Sinai Medical Center,\u00a0New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Maimonides Medical Center and\u00a0Montefiore\u00a0Medical Center. Four of the hospitals will focus on trying to cut down on mistakes in obstetrics,\u00a0while New-York\u00a0Presbyterian\u00a0is looking to stop surigcal mistakes.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0The program will use\u00a0state “health courts,”\u00a0where judges will help hospitals and patients negotiate settlements, avoiding such cases going to trial.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

State officials\u00a0stressed that\u00a0patients can still decide to take their cases to trial, and if they choose the judge-directed negotiations, they will be notified that they have the right to have an attorney at their settlement talks.<\/p>\r\n

It will be worth studing the results of this pilot program. But again, the proper measures must be taken so that patients aren’t railroaded into settling a lawsuit for far less money than they are due.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Five\u00a0New York City hospitals will be\u00a0taking part in a pilot program that aims to\u00a0reduce medical malpractice costs through mediation, avoiding trial, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.\u00a0One of the cornerstones\u00a0of the program is for hospitals to admit their mistakes and to offer potential defendants settlements early on.\u00a0 \u00a0http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052748703467304575383501123709186.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTTopStories While I believe this is\u00a0an intriguing initiative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4,5,437],"class_list":["post-459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-medical-malpractice","tag-medical-malpractice-attorney","tag-new-york-medical-malpractice-pilot-program"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t