TITLE
"Medical Malpractice: Problems in the Insurnace and Legal Systems," Journal of Insurance Issues, Alfred E. Hoflander and Blaine F. Nye. June 1989, Vol. XII, No. 2, pp. 1-21.

ABSTRACT
Medical malpractice insurance continues to be a topical and controversial subject in the world in which law, medicine, and insurance merge. The mid-1980s witnessed a new crisis--an affordability crisis, in many states. This research examines data from Pennsylvania and finds that malpractice losses and thus malpractice premiums are higher than they need be or could be if only each of the three major groups (hospitals, physicians, and lawyers) would "clean their own dirty linen."  If the tort law system can be altered to permit easier resolution of many of these claims with corresponding cost savings, it is evident that premiums could possibly be reduced on the order of 5% to 10% on this basis alone.