Physicians challenge lawyers' meritless liability suits -- and win

More doctors are discovering they have some recourse through countersuits or other legal tactics to hold lawyers accountable.

By Amy Lynn Sorrel, AMNews staff. Dec. 10, 2007.

Physicians say a series of favorable court rulings is turning the tide in their crusade against frivolous medical liability lawsuits.

Three Ohio courts in six months sanctioned plaintiff lawyers for pursuing unsupported claims against three doctors. Judges awarded the physicians their legal expenses. In New Orleans, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a similar award to a Mississippi doctor Nov. 13.

The courts chastised the attorneys for wanton behavior including: suing the wrong doctor; refiling a claim against a physician even though the plaintiff's expert withdrew his testimony the first time around; and having no expert testimony against one doctor yet failing to drop the case.

Beyond the money, doctors hope the hard-won victories in cases that often are difficult to prove send a message that deters lawyers from filing baseless claims in the first place.

"We are not trying to prevent legitimate claims. But these are egregious cases where there is absolutely no merit, whether through laziness or negligence or refusal [by trial lawyers] to do due diligence," said Almeta Cooper, Ohio State Medical Assn. general counsel. The society took on the three Ohio cases through its Frivolous Lawsuit Committee, a program that educates physicians about the practice and helps them defend against it.

Cooper said the rulings "encourage trial judges who see abusive conduct to take action ... and it helps physicians understand the system is not completely stacked against them."