If I am a medical malpractice insurance company, should I be concerned about a new underwriting risk?
The question is prompted by a recent story in the Denver Post. The lede:
The Colorado medical board has charged Dr. Warren Kortz with 14 counts of unprofessional conduct after a series of failed procedures with Porter Adventist Hospital's robotic surgery arm, as federal officials launch a wider review of the highly touted procedures.
The state alleges that from 2008 to 2010, Kortz cut and tore blood vessels, left sponges and other instruments inside patients after closing, injured patients through improper padding and positioning, subjected some to overly long surgeries, and had to abort kidney donations because of mistakes.
Each of these opportunities to enhance the plaintiff's case can be offset by an appropriate risk management approach. But how many medical malpractice insurance companies have recognized this new vulnerability and taken steps among their insured entities to ameliorate the risks?
Apparently not many, if these ads from a simple Google search on "medical malpratice robotic surgery" are any indication.
The question is prompted by a recent story in the Denver Post. The lede:
The Colorado medical board has charged Dr. Warren Kortz with 14 counts of unprofessional conduct after a series of failed procedures with Porter Adventist Hospital's robotic surgery arm, as federal officials launch a wider review of the highly touted procedures.
The state alleges that from 2008 to 2010, Kortz cut and tore blood vessels, left sponges and other instruments inside patients after closing, injured patients through improper padding and positioning, subjected some to overly long surgeries, and had to abort kidney donations because of mistakes.
Each of these opportunities to enhance the plaintiff's case can be offset by an appropriate risk management approach. But how many medical malpractice insurance companies have recognized this new vulnerability and taken steps among their insured entities to ameliorate the risks?
Apparently not many, if these ads from a simple Google search on "medical malpratice robotic surgery" are any indication.