Objective: To determine whether Florida's implementation of a no-fault system for birth-related neurologic injuries reduced lawsuits and total spending associated with such injuries, and whether no-fault was more efficient than tort in distributing compensation.
Methods: We compared claims and payments before and after implementation of a no-fault system in 1989. Data came from the Department of Insurance's medical malpractice closed claim files and no-fault records. Descriptive statistics were compiled for tort claims before 1989 and for tort and no-fault claims for 1989-1991. We developed two projection approaches to estimate claims and payments after 1989, with and without no-fault. We assessed the program's performance on the basis of comparisons of actual and projected values for 1989-1991.
Results: The number of tort claims for permanent labor-delivery injury and death fell 16-32%. However, when no-fault claims were added to tort claims, total claims frequency rose by 11-38%. Annually, an estimated 479 children suffered birth-related injuries; however, only 13 were compensated under no-fault. Total combined payments to patients and all lawyers did not decrease, but of the total, a much larger portion went to patients. Compensation of patients after plaintiff lawyers' fees rose 4% or 44%, depending on the projection method used. Less than 3% of total payments went to lawyers under no-fault versus 39% under tort.
Conclusion: Some claimants with birth-related injuries were winners, taking home a larger percentage of their awards than their tort counterparts. Lawyers clearly lost under no-fault. Because of the narrow statutory definition, many children with birth-related neurologic injuries did not qualify for coverage.
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Sci Data
December 2024
ENET centre - CEET, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
This abstract presents a dataset for the detection of fault types in XLPE-covered conductors utilized in 22 kV medium voltage power distribution systems. We employed an antenna-based approach for detecting partial discharges. The dataset encompasses 12 distinct fault categories, ranging from ground phase faults to inter-phase faults, and no-fault case with steel or covered conductor as fault.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatr Neurol
December 2024
Department of Neurological Sciences, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. Electronic address:
Front Med (Lausanne)
August 2024
Department of Health Sciences, Forensic Medical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Introduction: Healthcare-associated infections are the main reported adverse event in healthcare, with significant economic costs that include those caused by medical malpractice claims. In Italy, there is a fault-based compensation system, but in this specific field, the burden of proof on the hospitals is particularly heavy. Hence, we aimed to verify the economic impact of the inclusion of experts in hospital infection surveillance into internal committees for claims assessment and to evaluate what would have been the economic impact of a mandatory no-fault system rather than the current system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Acad Psychiatry Law
June 2024
Dr. Buchanan is a Professor of Psychiatry, in the Law and Psychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT and Associate Chief of Psychiatry, VA Connecticut Health Care System, West Haven, CT.
Laws on competency to stand trial and fitness to plead are said to derive from "mute by visitation of God," a medieval English legal term referring to the inability to speak through no fault of one's own. The paper describes the relevant historical background, illustrative cases, and legal commentaries. Muteness by visitation of God arose to address a particular set of difficulties caused by the need to have medieval defendants agree to be tried.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
April 2024
Medicine, Shri Madan Lal Khurana Chest Clinic, New Delhi, IND.
In contemporary healthcare systems, the pursuit of justice intertwines with fault attribution and liability determination. The exploration of no-fault liability as a potential alternative within India's healthcare landscape delves into its feasibility and implications. Drawing from international experiences, regulatory frameworks, and societal readiness, the complexities and potential benefits of adopting a no-fault liability system are elucidated.
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