Is the real problem with America’s medical liability system too much medical malpractice rather than too much litigation? Are recent rises in medical malpractice insurance premiums caused by economic cycles instead of increasing claims? Should the system be compensating more people? In his new book, The Medical Malpractice Myth, Professor Tom Baker, who is the director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut, answers these questions affirmatively, criticizes proposed and implemented liability reforms, and suggests, among other changes, the creation of a supplemental “no-fault” mechanism. Professor Baker will present his findings at this AEI event and will debate his conclusions with a panel of experts.

Panelists include AEI resident fellow Ted Frank, director of AEI’s Liability Project; Martin Grace, associate director of the Center for Risk Management and Insurance Research at Georgia State University; and David A. Hyman, one of the nation’s leading health law experts and a professor of law at the University of Illinois. Jonathan Klick, an economist and a law professor at Florida State University, will moderate.

The AEI Liability Project (www.liabilityproject.org) seeks to promote a better understanding of the scope and consequences of the liability crisis and to help ensure that political or legal reform efforts are aimed at the appropriate targets.

1:45 p.m.               Registration

2:00                        Presentation:           Tom Baker, University of Connecticut Law School

2:45                        Discussion:               Ted Frank, AEI 
                                                                  Martin F. Grace, Georgia State University
                                                                  David A. Hyman, University of Illinois Law School

                                Moderator:              Jonathan Klick, AEI and Florida State University                                       

4:00                        Adjournment