Two High-Dollar Malpractice Cases Worry Maryland Docs

Causing medical professionals to fear that jury awards are being made out of sympathy for plaintiffs, two high-profile, high-dollar cases in Baltimore may set an “unrealistic benchmark for what future juries are willing to award—and lawyers are willing to seek,” according to an article published August 4, 2012, in The Baltimore Sun. In June, a couple whose son was born with cerebral palsy was awarded $55 million, and this month, a couple in a similar situation at a different hospital was awarded $21 million. The article cites a 2010 American Medication Association survey that found that more than 60% of doctors (and 70% of obstetrician/gynecologists) had been sued by the time they reached age 55.