OPINION: New Mexico must reform medical malpractice laws — before more doctors leave

I am an independent, board-certified family physician and have practiced medicine in New Mexico for two decades. I own and operate Aspen Medical Center. We provide primary care and urgent care and are open seven days a week, 363 days a year. I employ more than 50 New Mexicans. We serve patients on Santa Fe’s Southside and in Española. Nearly 60% of the people we serve rely on Medicare, Medicaid or have no insurance at all. This is the work I believe in, and the community I love.

Yet despite dedication to our patients, we have been involved in two medical malpractice lawsuits — both stemming from care provided by one of our clinicians. In both cases, documentation showed the clinician followed the standard of care. In New Mexico, all medical malpractice lawsuits must be reviewed by a state medical board panel made up of three health care providers and three attorneys. In both cases, the review panel ruled overwhelmingly that we committed no malpractice. In one case, the vote was 6–0, in the other 5–1, the only dissenting vote coming from a trial attorney. Despite these rulings, both lawsuits charged forward with a vengeance.

In the first case, even though the medical encounter occurred in Santa Fe, the plaintiffs changed the venue to San Miguel County. Our attorney told us that no medical defendant had won a verdict there in 30 years. This type of venue shopping is banned in many other states. We were then threatened with punitive damages, which are unlimited in New Mexico and not covered by malpractice insurance. We were warned that a trial could lead to personal bankruptcy. We had no choice but to settle which forced our insurance companies to pay $1.5 million.

As a direct result of this settlement, my physician assistant was dropped by his malpractice insurer. Due to the high cost of litigation and having to pay out too many settlements, our own insurance company went bankrupt. Later, a highly rated national insurance carrier refused to even offer us a quote, labeling our practice “too high risk” largely because of the recent settlement.

The second lawsuit went all the way to a jury trial. The jury unanimously ruled in our favor on all counts. However, the case should never have gone that far. Our attorney estimated that in cases like ours, in which the review panel unanimously deems there was no malpractice, we would only win seven or eight times out of 10. That means even a clearly frivolous case carries unacceptable risk for a health care provider in New Mexico. This climate creates a giant incentive for trial lawyers to file lawsuits as there is no risk to them, and potentially very large payouts if they win a case or force a settlement.

New Mexico urgently needs meaningful medical malpractice reform. Other states have shown us what is possible. Texas caps punitive damages. Utah protects health care providers’ personal assets if certain conditions are met. Colorado has a higher legal standard for punitive damages. Arizona and multiple other states restrict venue shopping. Many doctors likely choose to work in these states instead of New Mexico. In fact, 75% of all doctors trained at the University of New Mexico end up practicing out of state.

These reforms would not deny injured patients access to justice. When malpractice actually occurs, patients should be compensated for any harm done. However, reforms like these would create balance and protect good providers so they can continue caring for patients.

The current malpractice environment creates much higher malpractice insurance premiums than surrounding states, increased levels of burnout and a hostile environment for health care providers.

Whether due to enduring a lawsuit, or the rising costs of malpractice premiums, many independent physicians are either selling their practices to larger entities or retiring early and leaving practice altogether. The trial lawyers always claim that they are suing big corporations and private equity, but in many cases like mine it is individual doctors and small independent practices.

If we want access to care, we must protect those who provide it.

Andrew Ropp is the medical director at Aspen Medical Center in Santa Fe.