Medical Malpractice Fund Reaches $406 Million Surplus
According to a state audit performed in February, a $1.2 billion state-run fund that pays large medical practice awards has a surplus of $783 million. Startlingly, this figure is $406 million more than recommended which illustrates just how difficult it has become for injured patients to win medical malpractice cases against doctors.
The Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund was created in 1975 by legislative enactment with a goal of providing excess medical malpractice coverage to health providers in the state, as well as compensating injured patients. Doctors and other health providers are required to pay into the fund. The fund covers malpractice awards of more than $1 million.
After the fund’s value grew considerably in recent years, regulators reduced doctor’s annual fees in an effort to bring the surplus to a target range. Despite the reduction in fees, the fund’s surplus continued to climb.
Unnecessarily High Surplus
The fund is backed by the Wisconsin Medical Society who claims that a large surplus is required to fund unexpected cases. But many attorneys are pushing back, arguing that the surplus is unnecessarily high and indicative of problematic regulations favoring health providers over patients.
For example, in Wisconsin, patients cannot sue if their adult children die from a medical error and vice versa. Further, in wrongful death cases, damages are capped at $500,000 for a child and $350,000 for an adult. Damages for UW-doctors are also capped at $250,000.
According to attorneys, these prohibitions are found in few, if any other, states and likely contribute to Wisconsin’s unenviable position of 49th out of 50 states in malpractice payments per capita from 2004 to 2014.
If you are a victim of medical malpractice and face the daunting task of attempting to recoup damages from the state fund, contact us today for a free consultation. Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. – an experienced attorneys eager to help those injured through no fault of their own recover the damages to which they’re entitled.