West Virginia Surgeons Strike Over Tort Reform
January 2, 2003
More than two dozen orthopedic, cardiac and general surgeons at four West Virginia hospitals are taking leave this week in protest of the high cost of malpractice insurance. As a result, almost all surgeries have been canceled at the facilities and at least one patient has been transferred 90 miles to another hospital to undergo an operation. The doctors are beginning 30-day leaves of absence from Wheeling Hospital, Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Ohio Valley Medical Center and Weirton Medical Center. The physicians want guidelines established that would make it more difficult to file malpractice lawsuits, which they say would lower their insurance premiums.
Physicians across the country allege multimillion-dollar medical malpractice verdicts have caused insurance premiums to soar, leading many doctors to leave their states or discontinue their practice. Most personal injury attorneys, however, argue that insurance companies have raised premiums to cover their losses caused by bad investments over the last few years.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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