Filed Down (Tort reform pushed by Gov. Perry dramatically reduces malpractice suits in Texas)
Fort Worth Star-Telegram ^ | 8/21/2006 | Jim Fuquay
excerpt..........
Pollard Rogers figures that for years, the Cantey & Hanger law firm in Fort Worth has had one of the largest medical malpractice defense practices in North Texas.
And it probably still does. But it's nowhere near as big as it was before the state changed the tort system three years ago, said Rogers, the firm's managing partner.
The Medical Malpractice and Tort Reform Act of 2003 put caps on noneconomic (pain and suffering) damages that could be awarded and raised the standard of proof necessary to win a malpractice case against an emergency healthcare provider. There is no cap on economic damages for lost income and medical expenses.
"Clearly the legislation has had the result intended. The number of filings in medical malpractice is down significantly," said Rogers, who's also seen the effect from his position as a board member of Baylor All Saints Medical Center at Fort Worth. "I would say the number of lawyers [at Cantey & Hanger] doing medical malpractice defense has been reduced by two-thirds."
And it's not happening just at Cantey & Hanger, one of Tarrant County's largest law firms.
The number of medical malpractice suits filed in Tarrant County and other Texas metropolitan areas has plunged since Sept. 1, 2003, when the law went into effect. The measure also bolstered defenses in civil suits involving a personal injury, such cases of product liability or the release of hazardous materials, and those cases also are down, although not as sharply.
And that's leading to big changes in many legal firms.
Dallas law firm Gwinn & Roby in March closed its Fort Worth office, which had operated for about 12 years. Managing partner Rob Roby said there wasn't enough malpractice defense work.
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