Medical malpractice claims appear to be falling both in terms of frequency and payments, according to a new study by the Connecticut Insurance Department.
Between January and September last year, insurance companies reported paying $459 million to Connecticut residents filing claims of medical malpractice, the department found, with 100 claims resulting in payments in excess of $1 million.
Of 1,500 claims, nearly 700 were resolved in favor of a claimant or plaintiff, with insurers electing to settle 98 percent of the cases.
For claimants obtaining compensation, payments averaged $670,000, down from $729,000 a year earlier or 8 percent. The decline occurred despite a 24 percent increase in legal fees associated with such cases, to $56,000.
Large corporations that self-fund insurance payments through a “captive” fund reported an average payment of $540,000, compared to an average of $800,000 for commercial carriers. Captive insurers paid $20,000 less in legal costs as well.
In Connecticut, it currently takes four years and eight months on average to resolve a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.
The largest medical malpractice insurer in Connecticut is ProSelect Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Boston-based ProMutual Group, which had $56 million in written premiums for a 26 percent market share. Connecticut Medical Insurance Co. was the second biggest carrier with $48 million in premiums.
