Los Angeles County Jury Awards Physicians $156M in Case Against Norcal Mutual
A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury yesterday awarded $156 million in damages to about 700 California physicians in a case against San Francisco-based Norcal Mutual Insurance, a medical malpractice insurer, the Los Angeles Times reports. Larry Feldman, an attorney for the physicians, said that the physicians partnered in 1981 to establish the Physicians Interindemnity Trust, which served as their malpractice insurer. Under PIT, the physicians shared actual losses from malpractice claims filed against them. In 1995, the physicians agreed to join Norcal, which promised to use their premiums to establish a trust to pay malpractice claims that PIT had covered, Feldman said. However, the trust went into receivership three months later and left the physicians with $56 million in unpaid malpractice claims. The physicians filed suit against Norcal and won their case yesterday. Norcal representatives and attorneys did not comment on the verdict (White, Los Angeles Times, 12/17).
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