Question:
Malpractice Coverage Woes, Difficulty Finding WLS Surgeons.

Has anyone experienced an increase in or noticed that wls surgeons are more and more being turned down for thier malpractice insurance renewals? This has happened to my surgeon and he is having a very difficult time finding an insurance company that will cover a gastric bpass surgeon. I was wondering how often this is occuring and if these companies are trying to put an end to this lifesaving procedure?    — lyndaleigh (posted on March 10, 2003)

March 10, 2003
Don't know much about the malpractice insurance companies and their reasoning for not insuring these surgeons. My surgeon does not carry malpractice insurance (I don't know if he just dropped it or it was cancelled), but he disclosed this up-front (at my consultation). I felt confident in my surgeon and went ahead with my surgery. I'm not sure how long he's been practicing and doing surgeries without the insurance. However, the fact that he felt confident in his abilities to perform this procedure without any insurance "standing between" me and him reassured me somehow. Hope this helps and GOOD LUCK.
   — Lisa S.

March 10, 2003
60 Minutes did a special on this topic last Sunday-the rising rate of malpractice insurance, especially in specialty fields like heart surgery, high risk pregnancies, that is forcing many good doctors to get out of the surgery business because they simply cannot afford the insurance any longer. We live in a society where spilling hot coffee on you is now a lawsuit. And juries that award millions of dollars for spilled hot coffee are part of the problem. It has forced the insurance industry to raise prices which then forces doctors out of the business. The 60 Minutes special showed doctors in New Jersey boycotting and asking their state to put laws in place limiting pain and suffering damages to 1/4 of a million. Until the nation enacts something along these lines, we are going to lose more and more good surgeons, not to mention future doctors who will stir towards safe fields like dermatology rather than get into the specialities like WLS which is so desperately needed.
   — Cindy R.