Ohio: 3K Medical Professional Liability Claims Closed in 2011

A total of 3,094 medical professional liability claims were closed in 2011 in Ohio, according to data collected by the Ohio Department of Insurance from entities providing medical professional liability coverage to Ohio health care providers and health care facilities.

Analysis of the data was published in the ODI’s seventh annual Ohio Medical Professional Liability Closed Claim Report.

Ohio law requires all entities that provide medical professional liability insurance in Ohio – including authorized insurers, surplus lines insurers, risk retention groups and self-insurers – to annually report closed claim data. Claims are included in analysis based on the year in which they reach final outcome. The specific data filed by each reporting entity is confidential and is not subject to public record requests.

The ODI is required to prepare an annual report summarizing the closed claims on a statewide basis.

Some key findings in the report, which also includes regional, specialty and treatment comparisons, are:

• Total Closed Claims: A total of 3,094 closed claims were reported for 2011 by 101 entities. Authorized insurers reported the majority of the closed claims, 1,708. Self-insured entities reported 1,144 closed claims, surplus lines insurers reported 173 closed claims and risk retention groups reported 69 closed claims.
• Total Claims Reported: During the seven years since reporting started, total annual claims have steadily decreased from approximately 5,000 in 2005 to around 3,000 in each of the last four years.
• Indemnity Payments: A total of 76 percent, or 2,343, of closed claims resulted in no payment to a claimant while 24 percent, or 751, of the claims closed with an indemnity payment. For all seven years during the reporting period, approximately 77 percent of the claims closed without an indemnity payment.
• Closed Claim Expenses: While most medical malpractice claims closed with no payments to claimants, almost all closed claims generated expenses for investigation and defense. These expenses totaled $84,010,910, an average of $33,591 per closed claim.

The full report and past reports are available on the department’s website at www.insurance.ohio.gov/Legal/Reports/Pages/ReportsIndex.aspx.

Source: Ohio Department of Insurance

Topics Claims Ohio Professional Liability