1975, October, Pg. 2080. Legislative Action Report.

• Author: by Gordon G. Gauss

4 Colo.Law. 2080

Colorado Lawyer

1975.

1975, October, Pg. 2080.

Legislative Action Report

2080Vol. 4, No. 10, Pg. 2080Legislative Action Reportby Gordon G. Gauss,,

CBA public relations and legislative counsel Health Care Malpractice Survey Results

Colorado attorneys are convinced that claims charging malpractice in the health care field are not of a magnitude to create any crisis in the state, a new study by the Colorado Bar Association shows.

Responses to questionnaires sent to 4,842 members of the association underscore a decision by CBA leaders that the state must not be stampeded into attempting sweeping legislative action on the subject at this time.

The bar survey results, projected to include all lawyers, indicate that during the past five years the number of health care malpractice claims accepted by lawyers has averaged 800 a year or fewer---including cases taken into court and those settled by negotiation. It further shows that most payments to claimants have been comparatively modest, with only a scattering amounting to $25,000 or more. Some have been less than $1,000. Fees resulting from claims in the health care malpractice field, the survey demonstrates, accounted for only a minor fraction of the incomes of most lawyers who accepted them.

Claims Handled by Few

Three-fourths of the lawyers answering the questionnaire didn't handle even one health care malpractice matter during the five-year period studied. Almost all of the others handled fewer than 10---an average of two a year. It seems a fair assumption from the statistics that perhaps no more than 50 or 60 lawyers---about one per cent of those in practice---engaged in the field more actively.

Questionnaires were mailed by the bar association August 22, with request for immediate responses so data could be prepared for presentation to the legislative council's committee on medical malpractice liability. This committee, which includes six lawyers and a physician among its 14 members, is charged with deciding whether Colorado should enact any laws next year limiting medical malpractice liability and, if so, what the acts should encompass.

Sponsoring the CBA effort was the special select committee on health care malpractice headed by Wayne D. Williams, immediate past president of the Denver Bar Association. It was appointed by President Donald S...