Single-State Tort Reform Analysis: Perspectives From the Volunteer State (Tennessee)

Abstract

Malpractice legislation is of particular concern to radiologists [ 1 Borgstede J.P. Tort reform and you: winners and losers, friends, foes, and facts of life. J Am Coll Radiol. 2004; 1: 535-536 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar , 2 Berlin L. Radiologic malpractice litigation: a view of the past, a gaze at the present, a glimpse of the future. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2003; 181: 1481-1486 Crossref PubMed Scopus (15) Google Scholar ] who are involved in a majority of patient encounters in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Accordingly, they are frequently involved in litigation. In fact, radiologists are consistently within the top 10 medical specialties named in malpractice suits and also for payment of malpractice claims [ 3 Thomson N.B. Patel M. Radiology liability update: review of claims, trends, high-risk conditions and practices, and tort reform alternatives. J Am Coll Radiol. 2012; 9: 729-733 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar ]. Most radiologists agree that tort reform would be beneficial in reducing the number of frivolous claims and costs of defensive medicine. However, attempts at medical malpractice tort reform have been stymied by a strong and well-funded plaintiff attorney lobby, especially on the national level. The most recent example of federal tort reform is the Protecting Access to Care Act (HR 1215), which was recently passed by the House [ 4 Congress.gov. H.R.1215—Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017. Available at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1215/text. Accessed January 23, 2018. Google Scholar ], but is unlikely to pass the Senate. Historically, the rules governing the practice of medicine, including medical malpractice, fall under the state purview. The federal government would have to address concerns over principles of federalisms when attempting to override state tort law. Concerns over the constitutionality of national malpractice law threaten to erode the broad support that any tort reform proposal would need to address an already highly controversial subject.