ASBESTOS LAWSUITS CONTINUE TO DECLINE
June 21, 2005 07:47

If midyear numbers are an indication, asbestos lawsuits
are still on the decline in Madison County. The county
has had 122 asbestos cases filedso far in 2005. There
were 477 filed in 2004, which followed three years of
asbestos lawsuits topping 800. The reason for the drop
is open to debate. Some say Circuit Judge Dan Stack,
who took over the asbestos docket last year, is making
it tougher for out-of-state plaintiffs to sue here.
Others say a rule implemented by Stack's predecessor,
Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron, is responsible because
it limits plaintiffs to ones who have cancer caused by asbestos. Sherman Joyce, president of the American
Tort Reform Association, gives credit to Stack.
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Brian Brueggemann, Belleville News Democrat, 06/21/2005
For complete story, see http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/11946018.htm
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The rising cost of medical-malpractice insurance has
hit many doctors, especially surgeons and obstetricians.
But one specialty has largely shielded itself: Anesthesiologists pay less for malpractice insurance
today, in constant dollars, than they did 20 years ago.
That's mainly because some anesthesiologists chose a
path many doctors in other specialties did not. Rather
than pushing for laws that would protect them against
patient lawsuits, these anesthesiologists focused on
improving patient safety. Their theory: Less harm to
patients would mean fewer lawsuits. Over the past two
decades, anesthesiologists have advocated the use of
devices that alert doctors to potentially fatal
problems in the operating room. They have helped
develop computerized mannequins that simulate real-life surgical crises. And they have pressed for procedures that protect unconscious patients from potential carbon -monoxide poisoning. All this has helped save lives.
Malpractice payments involving the nation's 30,000
anesthesiologists are down, too, and anesthesiologists typically pay some of the smallest malpractice premiums
around. That's a huge change from when they were
considered among the riskiest doctors to insure.
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Joseph T. Hallinan, The Wall Street Journal, 06/21/2005
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