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Arkansas Medical Malpractice Insurance

Just as you were trained to make solid recommendations regarding your patients’ health, our specialists at MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com are trained to make sound recommendations to our clients regarding their medical malpractice insurance selection. We have access to all the A-rated malpractice insurance carriers in Arkansas, and we’ll make them all bid competitively for your business. That will help you get the best terms for the lowest possible rate, and afford you the peace of mind that you have the best possible protection for yourself and your practice.

Why Arkansas Physicians choose My Medical Malpractice Insurance:

• We can get you competitive quotes from all the A-rated Med-Mal insurers in Arkansas.
  
  
• We will make you aware of all the Physician Discounts Available: Risk Management, Claims-free, New to Practice. There are numerous others available but these depend on your specific situation and the specific medical malpractice insurance carrier.
  
  
• No need to purchase separate tail coverage – Prior Acts Coverage is included.
  
  
• Our veteran liability specialists ensure that your policy is specifically shaped to fit your needs.
  
  
• We provide several free Practice Tools: Online Patient Satisfaction Survey System, Certified Professional Healthcare Risk Manager (CPHRM) on staff, plus many other tools to help your practice thrive and grow.
  
  
• Teaming up with the Medical Liability Monitor -- the nation's leading independent source of Medical Liability Insurance news as well as the political, legal and risk management issues that affect the healthcare industry --we publish historic rate data for every city in The Natural State. This information offers insight into Arkansas' data trends, allowing you to make informed decisions on your professional medical liability coverage and carrier. You can see why MyMedicalMalpracticeInsurance.com is the preferred online site for Arkansas physicians and medical groups looking to lower their medical malpractice insurance rates and find the best coverage for the lowest rates.
  
  
• Request your free, no obligation Arkansas Medical Malpractice Insurance quote, and let us save you money.

Medical Malpractice Insurance in Arkansas

Arkansas Medical malpractice insurance premiums are moderate. As a point of contrast, physicians in neighboring Missouri often pay as much as three times the base-rate premium they would in Arkansas. The enviable malpractice insurance rates that the Arkansas healthcare community enjoys can be directly attributed to a series of events that led to the passage of the state’s Civil Justice Reform Act of 2003.

During the 1990s, medical malpractice insurance rates remained largely flat in Arkansas. Soon after, rates began to climb at a double-digit pace, alarming the healthcare community and drawing the attention of lawmakers, who feared the increase in medical liability premiums threatened all Arkansans’ access to medical care. At the same time, a malpractice court case with significant insurance implications was snaking its way through the justice system.

In 2001, an Arkansas jury sided with the estate of Margaretha Sauer, who—suffering from Alzheimer’s disease—died from dehydration at the Rich Mountain Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Mena, Ark. Evidence at the trial indicated that she had received neither food nor liquid for 24-to-48 hours prior to passing away at 93 years old. The jury verdict was for more than $78 million, including $63 million in punitive damages. It was the largest verdict in the state’s history, and a rallying call for proponents of tort reform.

The following year, the nation’s healthcare community suffered a shock when the St. Paul Companies announced its exit from the medical malpractice line of insurance. At the time, St. Paul was the largest insurer of medical liability in the United States, and the company held a 55-percent market share in Arkansas. Many smaller insurers followed suit, and with fewer carriers competing, malpractice insurance premiums began to climb at a rate not seen in more than 25 years.

Fearing a future where increased claims frequency, unpredictable jury verdicts and actuarial uncertainty drive medical malpractice insurance premiums ever higher, the Arkansas Medical Society took it upon itself to draft legislation intended to deflate those premiums, boost the number of doctors practicing in the state and improve patient access to medical care. The resulting Civil Justice Reform Act—or HB 1038—was embraced in bipartisan fashion, being sponsored by two Democrats in the legislature and signed into law by a Republican governor. Highlights from the omnibus tort-reform legislation include:

• The Civil Justice Reform Act provided for a modified repeal of joint-and-several liability where defendants who are found to be 10-percent-or-less at fault will only be responsible for the percentage of damage they are deemed to have caused; those who are 11 percent to 50 percent at fault can be assessed an additional 10 percent if a co-defendant is unable to pay his or her share of a judgment; and defendants who are 51 percent to 99 percent at fault can be assessed an additional 20 percent if a co-defendant is unable to pay his or her share of the judgment.
  
  
• The Civil Justice Reform Act required a certificate of merit to be filed within 30 days of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in which expert testimony is required.
  
  
• The Civil Justice Reform Act required that expert medical negligence testimony come from a physician licensed in the same specialty as the defendant.
  
  
• The Civil Justice Reform Act reduced the statute of limitations in cases by minors against OB/Gyns from 19 years to nine years. The Act sets the statute of limitations for all other causes of action at two years from the alleged harm.
  
  
• The Civil Justice Reform Act raised the standard for the imposition of punitive damages to “clear and convincing evidence” of actual fraud, malice or willful and wanton conduct. The Act also caps punitive damages to the greater of $250,000 or three times compensatory damages—not to exceed $1 million.
  
  
• The Civil Justice Reform Act limits venue to the judicial district in which the action occurred, the plaintiff resides or the defendant resides, eliminating the practice of venue shopping for a sympathetic jury pool.
  

Within three years of the Civil Justice Reform Act going into effect, medical professional liability insurance rates began to flatten, and Arkansas’ largest medical liability insurer reduced its rates by an average of 10 percent in 2010. The Act has been challenged in the court system—with the certificate of merit provisions being stricken by the state’s supreme court as unconstitutional in 2007. Experts say it will be several more years before data will be available as to whether striking the certificate of merit results in an increase in claims frequency.

With the liability climate having been stabilized in Arkansas, it is more critical than ever to employ an experienced medical malpractice insurance broker when shopping for coverage. Only an experienced broker with access to all the major insurance carriers will be able to get companies to compete for your business. And when companies compete for your business, you can be assured you are receiving quotes that reflect the best terms and rates available.

Arkansas Supreme Court Chipping Away at 2003 Tort Reforms that Helped Lower Cost of Malpractice Insurance

On the heels of a unanimous decision in December of 2011 that struck down a provision of the Civil Justice Reform Act limiting punitive damages in a civil case to $1 million, the Arkansas Supreme Court cleaved another plank from the 2003 tort reform legislation in January.

In a Sebastian County case alleging malpractice in the treatment of a burn, the Supreme Court ruled that the legislature had violated the separation of powers doctrine by specifying who could be considered an expert in medical malpractice cases. The 2003 law specified that an expert had to be a specialist in the same field of specialty as the defendant. The high court declared that that provision dictates court procedure, violating the “inherent authority” of the court to protect the rights of litigants.

In the original case, the defendants argued that the plaintiff’s expert witness could not testify in the case because he was not of the same specialty as the defendants. A Sebastian County Circuit Judge agreed, issuing a summary dismissal of the lawsuit.

The high court’s decision reversed the summary judgment, sending the case back to the lower court for trial. At its heart, the judgment was a rebuke to the Arkansas legislature as the court argued it had exceeded its authority. There was no dissenting opinion.

The Arkansas Supreme Court’s recent ruling raised great concern among the state’s tort reform advocates and medical community as it is the second in two months to strike down a portion of the 2003 tort reform law.

On Dec. 8, 2011, the high court issued a ruling that struck down the $1 million cap on punitive damages in civil justice cases. Justice Courtney Hudson Goodson wrote the unanimous decision, which upheld the lower court’s ruling that the Civil Justice Reform Act’s cap on damages violated the state’s constitution.

Goodson wrote, “In this case, we are called upon to construe the meaning of the constitution. When interpreting the constitution on appeal, our task is to read the laws as they are written and interpret them in accordance with established principles of constitutional construction.”

Goodson referenced a 1938 provision of the Arkansas Constitution that prevents the General Assembly from enacting laws “limiting the amount to be recovered for injuries resulting in death or for injuries to persons or property” as the primary logic for striking the damage cap.

Following the two recent decision by the Arkansas Supreme Court that have watered down the efficacy of the Civil Justice Act of 2003, it is more important than ever that physicians practicing in the state work with an experienced medical malpractice insurance broker with access to all the major insurers writing in the area. Only an experienced broker with access to all the major insurers will be able to shop your coverage for the best terms at the best price.

Click to request your free Arkansas Medical Malpractice Insurance quote.

 
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