• 30
  • September
    2011

Usually, in cases of medical malpractice, it's the doctor who gets sued and is on the hook - along with his or her insurance company - for paying compensation stemming from medical negligence.

That's exactly what happened in the case of one doctor in Texas who had been sued for medical malpractice. But, instead, the medical malpractice insurer didn't think it was on the hook. It refused to pay out the claim on behalf of the doctor.

So, in turn, the doctor sued the insurance company.

Last month, on August 17, a jury awarded the doctor $3.4 million against Medicus Insurance Company. The jury found that it "misrepresented" its indemnification practices, as Denise Johnson reports for the Claims Journal.

The case arose out of two phone calls that the doctor, Richard Torres, took part in for the treatment of a patient who complained of problems related to paralysis. Torres says he was unaware of the patient's paralysis at the time, and due to complications, the patient suffered further injury.

Dr. Torres was found to be only 4 percent liable in the original medical malpractice trial against him. All the while, as Johnson reports, Medicus "refused" to make an offer of settlement, leaving Torres high and dry.

Source: Claims Journal, "$3.4M Jury Verdict in Texas Case Against Medical Malpractice Insurer," by Denise Johnson, 09/07/11