NH Considers Early Offer Program to Speed and Reduce Medical Malpractice Claims

The Union Leader carries an article describing a new bill before the New Hampshire Senate — Senate Bill 406: "Establishing an early offer alternative in medical injury claims". The bill "seeks to bypass costly and time-consuming litigation and give patients, providers and attorneys a pathway to a quick resolution."

According to the report by Garry Rayno:

"Under the bill, a patient who believes he has suffered an injury from medical care may request to participate in the early-offer program instead of the [screening panels] system that's already in place. If the provider also agrees to participate, the patient will be guaranteed a payment, Bradley said, though it might not be as big.

A patient who submits a claim under the new system will have to undergo an exam by an independent health care provider as well as submit information about medical costs and lost wages. The participating provider would then respond with an offer of payment based on the severity of the injury, ranging from $1,700 to $117,500 along with lost wages."

For more information, see the full article: Garry Rayno's State House Dome: Bill on injury claims aims to please all

What Makes New Hampshire's Medical Malpractice Laws Unique?

Each state has unique laws specifically governing medical malpractice and medical liability trials, so it is important for your lawyer to be fully experienced in the laws and the courts in the state where your injury occurred. What is unique to NH's med mal laws? Most notably in NH, the state has no limits or caps on damage awards. In addition, the state requires any claims filed to be reviewed by a pretrial screening panel to identify claims that merit compensation and to encourage early resolution of claims before going to trial.

Based on a listing of medical liability and malpractice laws compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 16 states do not have a damage award limit or cap, 36 jurisdictions have a limit or cap. New Hampshire is one of the states that does not limit damages. In fact, the State Supreme Court (see Carson v. Maurer, 120 N.H. 925, 424 A.2d 825 (1980) and Brannigan v. Usitalso, 134 N.H. 50, 587 A.2d 1232 (1991)) has declared limits on non-economic damages (§507-C:7) as unconstitutional. Here is a link to laws governing New Hampshire's screening panels for medical injury claims.

For a comprehensive list of state-by-state laws governing medical malpractice and liability suits, see www.ncsl.org.

NH Screening Panels Scrutinized

Some interesting numbers are included in the NHBR report on New Hampshire's review of medical malpractice review panels. In The jury's still out on malpractice panels, Cindy Kibbe writes that according to figures from the state's Medical Malpractice Panel and Insurance Oversight Committee...

"... there have been some 387 cases brought to the attention of screening panels since 2007, with 147 resolved prior to panel review. Of the 240 remaining cases 87 were waived, 84 have been heard and 69 are pending as of Dec. 10. Only 18 medical malpractice cases have gone to a jury trial after panel review since 2007."

For the full article please click through to NHBR where you can read or listen to the report.

Medical Malpractice Panel Changes Move Forward

The New Hampshire Business Review reports on a bill proposing changes to the state's medical malpractice panels in an article: House OKs med malpractice panel changes. According to the story...

"The New Hampshire House passed a bill Tuesday that would allow those in front of a medical malpractice screening panel to give “offers of proof” – documentary evidence – about the charges, as opposed to providing the testimony of live witnesses, in order to reduce costs."

Read the full article on NHBR.com.

New Hampshire Lawmakers Debate Repeal of Medical Malpractice Screening Panels

New Hampshire lawmakers working to repeal a 2005 medical malpractice reform law that they deem to be a failure "face stiff opposition from the law's supporters, including doctors, hospitals and members of the insurance industry." This according to a report in The Union Leader, on Jan. 11, 2009, "Rep. Robert Rowe, R-Amherst, has filed legislation to repeal the law mandating three-member panels screen all medical malpractice lawsuits before they go to trial."

To read the full report, click here.

NH Attorney Weighs in on Screening Panel Debate

Recent attention to New Hampshire's law on medical malpractice screening panels, including recent pieces in the Concord Monitor, seems to feature a "he said-she said" debate between doctors and lawyers, leaving out the most important parties: the victims of malpractice.

Read the editorial by Attorney Dugan here: What about the victims?

To understand the opposing viewpoint, read this previously published My Turn column by Dr. Oglesby Young: Screening malpractice suits is lowering costs

File under: medical malpractice nh

NH Medical Malpractice Screening Effectiveness Panel Needs More Time

New Hampshire doctors and their lawyers claim that state's medical malpractice screening panels save "money and time by encouraging lawsuits to settle but also keep meritless claims from juries," according to this Concord Monitor report.

Medical malpractice attorneys who represent injured patients counter that it's the other way around.

"But all those arguments are based on little more than anecdotal evidence. That's because state officials tracking the two key elements — the outcome of medical malpractice lawsuits and the state's malpractice insurance rates — say they need more time and more information."

See the full article here: Malpractice screening debated.

Also covered by Fox44 Burlington: Malpractice Screening Under Scrutiny in NH