From the desk of Tomas Gamba

The latest report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reveals several interesting facts about the current conditions of the medical malpractice insurance marketplace in the state. The agency's 2007 annual report on medical malpractice claims and rates shows that the number of claims has declined, and the state's largest med-mal insurance companies have generated higher profits.

The report indicates that the state's seven largest medical malpractice insurers, which together represent two-thirds of the entire market, had net income of $2.2 billion in 2006, compared with $700 million the year before. All but one of the seven largest insurers in the state enjoyed a decline in the percentage of premiums that was allocated to cover claims and expenses. The health of the market led seven new companies to enter the state's med-mal insurance marketplace in 2006, and the increased competition and profitability of all of the insurers yielded a three percent rate reduction for the average physician in the state. In addition, four of the seven largest insurers have already filed to lower their rates in 2007, but some did not change their rates despite paying less in claims.

The largest insurer, Jacksonville-based First Professionals Insurance Co. covering 23 percent of the state's insured physicians, asked the OIR for an 11.7 percent decrease in addition to the 8.5 percent decrease that it received last year. Its rates would be just below 2003 levels, and the company indicates that its premiums will continue falling for the next two years as more years of lower claim data is calculated and applied.

The numbers in Florida reflect a national trend. Claims have declined nationwide during the same time period, and that includes states that unlike Florida have not capped damages for victims.

While the medical and insurance industry along with their legion of lobbyists will claim that the numbers reflect the results of the 2003 reforms, Gamba & Lombana as well as other attorneys who represent the victims of negligent medical care believe that they illustrate how the cap on damages have prevented attorneys from taking on many meritorious but difficult cases. Litigating medical malpractice claims can be very expensive and time consuming, and the caps on damages makes it difficult for even some of the most deserving victims to have their cases presented by qualified and experienced med-mal attorneys.