Hefty payouts frequently force medical liability lawyers to weigh their options

04/27/2012

Even though health organizations and hospitals have seen fewer medical malpractice claims filed against them in recent years, the award settlements from these types of cases have increased. As a result, lawyers in the medical professional liability field are more selective about the types of cases they&#39;ll take on, according to an industry expert.<br/><br/>In an interview with Insurance Journal, Laurel Byerly, senior vice president for Western Litigation, talked about this trend.<br/><br/>&quot;I think the malpractice industry over the years has gotten very defense-oriented,&quot; said Byerly. &quot;Attorneys have been trained to vigorously defend cases. That has forced the plaintiff bar to be highly selective about the cases they&#39;re choosing.&quot;<br/><br/>She added that, historically, medical malpractice cases have been very expensive to prosecute due to the cost of discovery and consultation with experts who may be able to testify on behalf of their client. This has led lawyers to heavily weigh the cost and benefits of taking on a case from an economic standpoint.<br/><br/>&quot;Many of them are not going to take cases that they don&#39;t see a chance of success in and won&#39;t result in a big payoff at the end of the day.&quot;