1.1 History and Purpose

• Library: Medical Malpractice Law in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

1.1 HISTORY AND PURPOSE

Medical liability insurance carriers increased premiums substantially in the mid-1970s, prompting many states, including Virginia, to search for ways to contain professional liability insurance costs. The Virginia General Assembly ordered a study of this issue, which resulted in the Virginia Medical Malpractice Act (the Act). ¹ The Act has two salient features: a pretrial medical review system for evaluating medical malpractice claims and a damages cap. ² Pursuant to the Act, the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, in 1977, promulgated rules governing "all formal proceedings with respect to the activities of a duly constituted Medical Malpractice Review Panel. ³

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Notes:

^[1] Va. Code § 8.01-581.1 et seq.; see Interim Report of the Joint Subcommittee Studying Virginia's Medical Malpractice Laws, to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia, H. Doc. 21, Va. Gen. Assem., Ex. A, at 3 (1985); see also David H. Aldrich, Alternatives to the Medical Malpractice Phenomenon: Damage Limitations, Malpractice Review Panels and Countersuits, 34 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1179, 1186-87 (1979).

^[2] See infra ¶ 1.4.

^[3] Va. Code § 8.01-581.11. These rules, known...