Vested Interest - September 2003 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

Over the last six months, I and other members of the Executive Committee have engaged in a dialogue with various physician groups about the current medical malpractice liability crisis. These discussions have ranged from informal get-togethers to symposiums where hundreds of physicians have attended to hear our members speak about what we believe is driving this current crisis. When these discussions began, the level of frustration, anger, and in some cases, hopelessness was palpable. I recall one seminar in Joliet this March where one physician was so irate about the position I was taking (pointing out that 44,000 to 100,000 Americans die every year because of preventable medical errors) that he had to be asked to leave the premises! Fortunately, most of these discussions have been far more civilized.

I believe that many doctors were hopeful that personal protection would be achieved through Federal Legislation, a hope that was dashed this July when Senate Bill 11 was defeated. These various physician groups seem to be resided to the fact that relief via Federal tort "reform" is not imminent, and even if it were, would do little to curb the recent run up of medical malpractice insurance premiums. They further believe that in light of the current political landscape and our Supreme Court’s ruling in the Best v. Taylor Machine Works case, that statewide relief in the form of caps on damages is an even less likely prospect. Many physicians are now more concerned than ever that without some relief they will be forced to relocate their practices, curtail high risk procedures, or quit practicing medicine altogether. They cite as examples states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida losing physicians because of the current crisis. Notwithstanding the questionable validity of this alleged fact (see enclosed article highlighting recent data from the National Practitioner Data Bank and testimony from the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, March 11, 2003), there’s clearly a perception, if not a reality, that Illinois physicians are under tremendous financial strain in the face of skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums. As one physician recently told me, "We work in an industry with regulated income set by Medicare and third party payers, while at the same time our expenses are completely unregulated."

These various physician groups have asked for ITLA’s assistance in developing a solution to this problem. I believe our Organization should do whatever it can to help. ITLA should be seen as part of the solution, not a part of the problem. As President, I intend to move forward in assisting these various physician groups advance possible legislation that will help prevent the medical malpractice liability crisis from reoccurring, while at the same time not impinging upon the rights of any Illinois citizen to a fair and unfettered jury trial. I will keep you posted on any new and important developments in this area. I welcome any thoughts or ideas that you may have.

Michael P. Schostok, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association