Having investigated and resolved thousands of complex med mal claims since 1985, I see things differently. Please keep in mind that I defend the doctors when they are defensible and pay when it is clear that they goofed.

I consider myself a democrat but I am old enough to be a republican. Frist and Clintons approach to curtailing the # of medical errors is a nice thought, but is like blaming forest fires on the trees!

The number of medical errors that turn into suits is very small, maybe 3%, compared with the number of injuries caused by med mal that are never seen.

The fix: get med mal out of the court system and into binding arbitration. Why? -The jury system never supplies a jury of peers for a physician, and the arguments they listen to are beyond their education level. Arbitration also removes that other mouth that needs to be fed- the plaintiff's attorney. They get paid 30-40% of indemnity. Without them, the money goes to the victim and you save 1/3 of the cost of med mal without reinventing the med mal wheel. The victim gets the money. Why isnt this done? -guess. The reasonable solution is aginst the bars self interest. They would stilll do well by exchanging blockbusters for volume.

The expense of lawsuits? - roughly 40% on indemnity paid. Think about that for a second. My way saves 30% of indemnity, 25% of expense and the money goes to the victim.

In Arbitration - : The arbitors would be physicians with attorneys presenting the arguments to the panel on an hourly basis. Pay them $400 an hour with a $5k retainer and 10% of the award. I'd pay that for both sides. The court system gets cleaned up, and the time from claim to resolution could be measured in months, not years.

Most of the claims that reach my desk have merit. The fact that the doc's win 85% of the cases tried should not be interpeted frivelously. I try only those cases that I think that I can win- that is why the % is so high. I also settle alot of cases that I think that I can win. Recently, I had a completly defensible case that I settled. Why? - I had a deceased vetern widower in a military county and 2 orphan kids. My fear of the Hollywood court room scene, complicated medicine, and lay hometown jury forced my hand.

Arbitration is the way to go. I win this argument every time, but it will never happen only because it makes sense and it solves the problem. Arbitration is now used 9% of the time, it should be 90% !! Could this trim ultimate healthcare costs and bring the cost of physician's liability insurance- Duh !Tell me how I am wrong.

JOHARE AIC AIS VP of Claims PIC