SYRACUSE -- Health care was a big topic in President Obama's State of the Union address. A heated issue for the health community is medical malpractice lawsuits.
President Obama seems open to medical malpractice reform and what some call "frivolous lawsuits." Dr. David Duggan, the president of the Onondaga County Medical Society, calls it an important issue for doctors, especially in New York State.
"New York State has amongst the highest rates for insurance premiums of any state in the country and often physicians are paying $100,000 - $200,000 a year for malpractice, and that makes it harder to attract physicians here and it certainly makes it harder for them to practice," Duggan says.
Dr. Duggan says there are certain aspects of the current tort system that add extra costs which need to be brought down. Dr. Duggan says he wants to limit unnecessary costs, while at the same time, making sure patients who are injured are compensated appropriately.
Jeff DeFrancisco, a personal injury lawyer who handles medical malpractices cases, says five percent of doctors commit 58 percent of the malpractice. He says if something is done to address those doctors causing the majority of the claims, there would be fewer injuries.
"From what I have seen and the reality is, at least when it comes to the field of medical malpractice, there aren't as many frivolous claims as people are actually alluding to," DeFrancisco says. "The reason being, they are obviously expensive cases for attorneys to pursue."
DeFrancisco says in one of his cases against a local hospital, a large laparoscopic pad was left in a young boy.
