A comprehensive study of medical malpractice claims in Florida since 1990 shows no sharp increase in lawsuits relative to population growth and a modest increase in the size of settlements, according to two Duke University professors.

"When we compared the number of malpractice cases to the population in Florida," said Neil Vidmar, a professor at Duke's School of Law, "there has been no (large) increase in medical malpractice lawsuits in Florida."

Vidmar, who has a Ph.D. in sociology, was joined by Dr. Paul Lee, a professor at Duke University's School of Medicine and an attorney, in conducting the study.

Vidmar said the data in the study came from public records filed at the Florida Department of Health since 1975, when a law was passed to require medical malpractice insurance companies to file extensive information annually on claims.

The medical malpractice controversy has been a hardy perennial in the Legislature.

After intense lobbying by insurers and doctors and a special session in 2003, lawmakers passed a bill that placed caps on damage awards in medical malpractice cases in hopes of stemming insurance rate increases.

And last November, voters approved three constitutional amendments dealing with the issue.

Two of the amendments were pushed by lawyers and the third by doctors. The doctors' amendment limits fees of lawyers representing patients by guaranteeing clients a greater share of damages.

The lawyers' amendments require doctors and hospitals to make reports of their medical mistakes public and to take away the licenses of doctors who commit three incidents of medical malpractice.

Data supplied by the state Office of Insurance Regulation shows in the past two years, the top four medical malpractice insurance companies in Florida were granted rate increases averaging 19.3 percent in 2004 and 9.3 percent for this year.
Since the mid-1970s, doctors and insurance companies have cited increasing numbers of medical malpractice lawsuits and huge jury awards as the reason for rapidly rising malpractice premiums.

Trial lawyers say the number of lawsuits and the size of awards have not increased enough to justify premium increases sought by insurers.

The Duke study shows that average awards, in 2003 dollars, have increased from $176,603 in 1990 to $300,280 in 2003.

Vidmar, who has written several studies of the civil litigation system, said public records show no increase in medical malpractice claims from 1990 through 2003. He said the study reviewed data from 1975, but focused on claims filed since 1990.

The study shows 2,776 total medical malpractice claims filed in Florida in 1990. That figure includes all claims that did not involve lawsuits and those in which suits were filed.

Some medical malpractice claims are settled before litigation begins.

The number peaked with 3,093 claims in 1996 and declined to 2,063 in 2003, the last year surveyed in the study. In the same period, the number of doctors in Florida increased from 32,425 in 1990 to 48,706 at the end of 2002, the study shows.

Median medical malpractice claims payments in 1990 were $28,517 per claim and $150,00 per claim in 2003. Vidmar said rising health-care costs and more serious injuries resulting in larger claims or litigated payments caused the increase in the claim total.

Finally, the report concludes the "vast majority of million-dollar awards were settled around the negotiation table rather than in the jury room."

Of the 831 million-dollar awards reported since 1990, 63 were awarded by juries. The rest occurred as settlements.

Of the 37 claims that received awards of $5 million or more, only two claims went before a jury - the rest were the result of settlements.

"At this stage," the report says, "debate about the role of juries in so-called 'mega' awards is misplaced insofar as Florida is concerned."

Vidmar's study comes on the heels of a similar report from the University of Texas that was released last week. Assembled by four law professors, the Texas study mirrored the Duke report.

"We find no evidence of the medical malpractice crisis that produced headlines over the last several years and led to legal reform in Texas and other states," the report said.

"The rapid changes in insurance premiums that sparked the crisis appear to reflect market dynamics, largely disconnected from claim outcomes," the report continued.

Charles Silver, a law professor at the University of Texas Law school, said the report is based on information provided by the Texas Department of Insurance.

Frank O'Neil, senior vice president of investor relations and corporate communications at Pronational Insurance Co. in Birmingham, Ala., said he had not seen the Duke study and could not comment on it.

Pronational is one of the top five medical malpractice insurers in Florida, according to Office of Insurance Regulation records.

"Our results show just the opposite," O'Neil said, referring to the conclusions in the Texas and Duke studies. "I think what you are proving is we have conflicting information."

Medical malpractice continues to be a concern in the Legislature. Committees this week are crafting bills to implement the constitutional amendments voters passed. In addition, several lawmakers have filed placeholder bills, which will deal with medical malpractice but have no details yet.

The Duke study will be published in the DePaul University Law Review, said a spokeswoman for the Chicago university.