Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Down in Wisconsin

The number of medical malpractice lawsuits is on the decline in Wisconsin, and the reason may be attributed to a number of factors. Unfortunately, it is unlikely one of those factors is a reduced number of hospital errors or subsequent injuries to patients. Instead, the decline appears to be related to changes to state law that make it much more difficult to file and win a medical malpractice lawsuit.

State law factors

Lawmakers in Wisconsin have limited the amount of non-economic damages victims of medical malpractice may pursue to $750,000. Those damages might include intangible losses like pain and suffering. Limits on damages have made malpractice cases expensive for attorneys, who often must pay more than $100,000 up front for review of medical records and expert testimony. Since fees for these cases are generally paid on a contingency basis, attorneys do not recoup any of their expenses unless the plaintiff wins the case.

State law has also restricted who can file a medical malpractice claim on behalf of an injured or deceased family member. For example, only spouses and children are allowed to file wrongful death lawsuits involving medical malpractice. In addition, parents of children age 18 or over are not allowed to file a lawsuit on behalf of their injured adult child. At the same time, 18-year-old children are also prevented from filing claims on behalf of an injured or deceased parent.

In addition to restrictions on plaintiffs, law in Wisconsin requires victims of medical malpractice to file a complaint with a mediation panel before taking their case to court. In 2014, the state’s mediation panel received 118 complaints, while only 84 malpractice lawsuits were filed. Approximately one-third of the complaints filed before a mediation panel during 2013 and 2014 were done without an attorney.

National statistics

While medical malpractice lawsuits appear to be dwindling in Wisconsin, numbers are up for medical malpractice payouts in other areas of the country. According to numbers from Diederich Healthcare, payouts in 2013 of more than $3.7 billion, which marked a 4.7 percent increase over 2012. Wisconsin was one of the states at the bottom of the per-capita payouts list, with Texas and North Dakota. Top states for medical malpractice payouts included New York, Pennsylvania and California.

The most common allegation in a medical malpractice complaint was an error in diagnosis. Other common allegations included surgical errors, problems with treatment, and issues related to obstetrics. Medication errors, patient monitoring and problems related to anesthesia rounded out the list of common allegations.

Alleged injuries in malpractice complaints included death (31 percent), followed by significant permanent injury, major permanent injury and injuries requiring lifelong care, such as brain damage and quadriplegia.

The large majority of payouts received (95 percent) were a result of medical malpractice settlements between the plaintiff and defendants. The other five percent were the result of judgements. Both the number of cases that went to judgement and the payout amounts for cases decided by judgement decreased between 2012 and 2013.

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