May It Please The Court: Weblog of legal news and observations, including a quote of the day and daily updates
 Bookstore:       
5/23/2013 - Oh my! The Folks in Marin Might Have to Look At Big Water Tanks 5/14/2013 - Convicted Killer of Seven Wants Playstation in Jail Cell 4/26/2013 - The Big Print Giveth and the Small Print Taketh Away 3/14/2013 - When Is a Volunteer an Employee Covered by Work Comp? It Depends on the Pixie Dust you Sprinkle. more...
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Quote of the Day - When asked what the stock market will do, he replied, 'It will fluctuate.'
The Money Has To Come From Somewhere - The Consequences of Decreasing Investment ReturnsWhich side of the debate do you fall on? There's one more study that apparently falls on the side of lawyers. Dartmouth College researchers argue that it's not lawsuits that cause rising malpractice premiums.To $100,000, on average, for doctors. The researchers argue that the rise in premiums is a direct consequence of the insurance companies' decrease in investment returns. You know, that old inverse proportion problem. You gotta get money from somewhere in order to pay malpractice claims, so if investments go down, premiums go up. The AMA disagrees, and claims that tort reforms are the answer. Insurance companies likewise blame lawyers. I don't sue or defend doctors, so I'm arguably neutral on the point - other than my occupation as a lawyer and perhaps inherent desire to defend the profession. But I'm siding with Dartmouth on this one. Most people know about stock market losses, and know what's happened to their own insurance premiums. Should doctors be surprised that their malpractice premiums have increased at the same proportion that insurance investment returns have decreased? Or did they miss that day in math class?
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