Donald J. Fager, malpractice attorney and insurance firm founder, dies at 92

Donald J. Fager, an attorney specializing in medical malpractice who launched a mutual insurance company, passed away at his home in New Canaan at the age of 92.

Fager graduated from Regis High School in Manhattan and received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. He received his Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law, where he was an editor of the law review, and began his career as a trial attorney with the Manhattan law firm Martin Clearwater & Bell, which specialized in defending hospitals and medical professionals in malpractice cases.

In 1975, he founded Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Co., the first physician-owned insurance company. The company, which became the largest mutual insurance firm of its kind, was acquired by Warren Buffett”™s Berkshire Hathaway in 2018.

Fager was also a founding board member of the Medical Professional Liability Association, where he served as president and a member of the board of trustees. He was also a member of the Medical Defense Committee for the International Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute and served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.

He is survived by his wife Geraldine, three children, and four grandchildren.