Post-Verdict Haircuts in Texas Medical Malpractice Cases
From: zygote@icsi.net
Mon Dec 25 15:52:43 2006
Who says a TX haircut is not a good thing!
Caio! RJC
From: "Dean Huffman ." <dean@thehuffpeople.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L <ob-gyn-l@dns.obgyn.net>
Subject: Do Defendants Pay What Juries Award? Post-Verdict Haircuts in
Texas Medical Malpractice Cases
> .
>
> "Do Defendants Pay What Juries Award? Post-Verdict Haircuts in Texas Medical
> Malpractice Cases, 1988-2003"
>
> 1st Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper
>
>>
> ABSTRACT: Legal scholars, legislators, policy advocates, and the news media
> frequently use jury verdicts to draw conclusions about the performance of the
> tort system. However actual payouts can differ greatly from verdicts. We report
> evidence on post-verdict payouts from the most comprehensive longitudinal study
> of matched jury verdicts and payouts. Using data on all insured medical
> malpractice claims in Texas from 1988-2003 in which the plaintiff received at
> least $25,000 (in 1988 dollars) following a jury trial, we find that most jury
> awards received ?haircuts.? 75% of plaintiffs received a payout less than the
> adjusted verdict (jury verdict plus pre-judgment and post-judgment interest),
> 20% received the adjusted verdict (within + 2%), and 5% received more than the
> adjusted verdict.
>
> Overall, plaintiffs received a mean (median) per-case haircut of 29% (19%), and
> an aggregate haircut of 56%, relative to the adjusted verdict. The larger the
> verdict, the more likely and larger the haircut. For cases with a positive
> adjusted verdict under $100,000, 47% of plaintiffs received a haircut, with a
> mean (median) per-case haircut of 8% (2%). For cases with an adjusted verdict
> larger than $2.5 million, 98% of plaintiffs received a haircut with a mean
> (median) per-case haircut of 56% (61%). Insurance policy limits are the most
> important factor explaining haircuts. Caps on damages in death cases and caps
> on punitive damages are also important, but defendants often paid substantially
> less than the post-cap adjusted allowed verdict. Remittitur accounts for a small
> percentage of the haircuts. Punitive damage awards have only a small effect on
> payouts. Out-of-pocket payments by physicians are rare, never large, and
> usually unrelated to punitive damage awards.
>
> Most cases settle, presumably in the shadow of the outcome if the case were to
> be tried. That outcome is not the jury award, but the actual post-verdict
> payout. Because defendants rarely pay what juries award, jury verdicts alone do
> not provide a sufficient basis for claims about the performance of the tort
> system.
>
Robert J. Carpenter, Jr. MD, JD
6624 Fannin, #2720
Houston, TX 77030
(O) 713-795-4600
(F) 713-795-4422
"Life is difficult"
The Road Less Travelled
by Scott Peck
