Kentucky's effort to screen medical malpractice claims falls flat

A Republican-backed law that requires Kentuckians to submit malpractice claims to a review panel before they can file lawsuits has produced a morass of delay in its first year on the books.

Only 11 percent of 531 claims have been assigned to a panel and findings have been issued in just 3 percent, according to figures obtained from the state by the Courier Journal under the Kentucky Open Records Act. Another 5 percent were withdrawn, settled or dismissed.

Proponents, led by House and Senate Republicans, touted the Medical Review Panel Act approved in 2016 as a way to reduce frivolous litigation and cut the cost of liability insurance for providers; Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration called it “the first step toward tort reform.”

Doug Hogan, a spokesman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which runs the program, insists it is working because there are "hundreds of cases in various stages of review before the panels."

Read more: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/08/05/kentucky-medical-malpractice-screening-panel-falls-flat/865452002/

Justice delayed is justice denied.