Governor speaks at Saint Francis about frivolous lawsuits

Gov. Matt Blunt addressed a group of physicians and taxpayers Thursday at Saint Francis Medical Center, speaking about the decrease in what he called frivolous malpractice lawsuits since 2005 tort reform laws took effect.

Blunt credited reforms with freeing up money that hospitals and physicians would have spent on insurance and costly litigations for health care, hiring new doctors, and new equipment.

Blunt said 2007 numbers were not available, but that from 2005 to 2006, average settlement costs fell nearly 14 percent, and total claims against Missouri doctors dropped by 61 percent.

In addition to mandating a cap on punitive damages and limiting non-economic damages in medical liability cases to $350,000, the reforms ensured that tort cases cannot only be heard in the county where the offense occurred, eliminating "venue shopping," Blunt said.

Ken Vuylsteke, a St. Louis lawyer and member of the Executive Committee of Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, said he's not surprised by the decrease in malpractice claims in Missouri.

"Those numbers are a reflection of the courtroom doors being slammed in the faces of elderly people, stay at home mothers and children," Vuylsteke said.

The severity index, a measure of the seriousness of injuries involved with malpractice suits, continues to rise in the state.

Vuylsteke said he still gets the same amount of calls, but has to reject most of them because he knows the payout would not compensate the plaintiff's damages. In fact, in many of the cases, the attorney ends up cutting their fees so they don't get a greater payout than the person they're representing, he said.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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