Georgia bill would remove malpractice from the court system

A new system for dealing with medical malpractice complaints is now being considered in the Georgia state legislature. If the proposed legislation is passed, it would transform the current medical tort system in that state into an administrative system.

In the Georgia legislation—SB 86 or the “Patient Compensation Act”—seeks to create an administrative system where patients are compensated for medical injuries by a Patient Compensation Board rather than through litigation.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, said the system would be akin to that which governs U.S. workers compensation. Comparable systems are in place in countries like New Zealand, Sweden, and Denmark.

Under the proposed legislation physicians—instead of purchasing medical malpractice insurance—would pay into a patient compensation system in order to fund the program. The contribution paid would depend on a physician’s specialty. For example, a diagnostic radiologist would be no more than $3,100 annually, while the rate for a specialist in neurological surgery (including surgery involving children) wouldn’t exceed $25,300.

Claims would be handled by an 11-person panel consisting of physicians, attorneys, accountants and patient advocates.

According to an article in Medscape by Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD, CEO and founder of Medical Justice Services and eMerit in Greensboro, N.C., such a system would benefit physicians because there would be “no reason to deny and defend,” which means there would be no need to undergo depositions, cross-examinations, or shut down practices in order to sit inside a courtroom during a trial.

Patients would benefit, Segal said, because “all complaints would be reviewed,” not just those of high value, meaning more patients “would have access to justice.” In addition, a patient’s complaint would be resolved expeditiously—in a matter of months, rather years—and the amount paid out would be “rational, reasonable, and predictable.”

And the healthcare system would benefit because physicians would no longer have any incentive to practice defensive medicine.

The consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch said in a release that if enacted, “the bill would virtually eliminate the right of a Georgia resident to bring a cause of action in court against any provider for medical malpractice. Instead of a constitutionally guaranteed trial by jury, the case would go before an 11-person panel whose decision as to whether ‘medical error’ was committed could not be appealed.”

And—not unexpectedly—the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA) vigorously opposes the legislation. “Replacing the time-tested civil jury system with a taxpayer-funded bureaucratic government agency would be an egregious infringement on Georgia citizens’ constitutional rights,” said GTLA President Linley Jones in a statement, “and I have no doubt that Senate Bill 86 would be held unconstitutional if it were to come before the Georgia Supreme Court.”