What is the Medical Malpractice Act?
Most states have passed a medical malpractice act to control the amount of money damages awarded in malpractice lawsuits and to help reduce the number of medical malpractice actions filed each year.
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History
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In recent years, the number of malpractice cases filed in U.S. courts has skyrocketed, causing medical professionals to purchase extensive and expensive medical malpractice insurance plans. States started enacting medical malpractice acts to deal with this crisis.
Award Caps
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Generally, most medical malpractice acts are designed to control the amount of money that can be awarded to a plaintiff in a lawsuit. These limits are known as caps, and in most states a plaintiff is capped off at $250,000. In other words, under the medical malpractice act, the plaintiff cannot be awarded more than $250,000 for damages in a medical malpractice action.
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Caps on Attorney Fees
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In addition to limiting how much a plaintiff can recover, a medical malpractice act can also limit the amount of fees an attorney can collect. In most states, the medical malpractice act allows attorneys to collect only a designated percentage of the damages awarded.
Purpose
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The medical malpractice acts limit attorneys fees as a way to ensure that only true cases of medical malpractice are filed and that plaintiffs are not seeking more damages than they actually incurred.
Potential
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As of August 2009, there was not a federal medical malpractice act.
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