This editorial wants Kentucky to join the other states in malpractice reform

“Trial lawyers may not think the liability system in Kentucky is in crisis, but doctors who pay exorbitant sums to protect themselves from lawsuits have a different perspective on the problem. So do patients — including expectant mothers — who have to travel more than 50 miles to see a specialist.

The charge that insurance companies are responsible for the liability crisis clearly is not persuasive to most doctors. The AMA blames ‘frivolous lawsuits,’ not greedy insurance companies.

Greed is a factor in the rising cost of malpractice insurance and defensive medicine, which doctors practice by ordering nonessential tests and procedures to ward off lawsuits. But it’s the greed of contingency fee attorneys who can collect up to 40 percent of jackpot jury awards in malpractice cases.”