Medical malpractice liability garners media headlines. Basic issues such as the scope of the problem and workable solutions are hotly contested, often without serious analytical or empirical support. This conference seeks to promote a better understanding of relevant issues, such as the benefits of liability, the social costs of liability (with a focus on physician supply and defensive medicine), the role of liability insurance, and the adequacy of the litigation/settlement process.

The conference will be held in room V from 9am-6pm on Friday and 9am-12:30pm Saturday. The schedule is below. Please contact Marjorie Holme at mholme@uchicago.edu if you have any questions or special needs.

Malpractice Litigation Process

9:00 10:00 am

Title: Claims, Errors, and Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation
Presenter: Michelle Mello (Harvard U., School of Public Health)
Commentator: Tom Miles (U. Chicago Law School)

10:00 11:00 am

Title: "You Can't Get Blood from a Stone": Physicians' Insuring Practices and Payments on Medical Malpractice Claims
Presenter: Charles Silver (U. Texas Law School)
Commentator: Anup Malani (U. Virginia Law School)

11:00 11:15 am Coffee Break

11:15 am 12:15 pm

Title: Learning and Bargaining in Dispute Resolution: Theory and Evidence from Medical Malpractice Litigation
Presenter: Yasutora Watanabe (Northwestern U., Kellogg School)
Commentator: Albert Choi (U. Virginia Law School)

Effect of Malpractice on Health Production

1:45 2:45 pm

Title: Malpractice Liability and Medical Costs
Presenter: Darius Lakdawalla (RAND)
Commentator: Chapin White (CBO)

2:45 3:45 pm

Title: The Impact of Malpractice Risk on the Use of
Obstetrics Procedures
Presenter: Beomsoo Kim (U. Maryland, Econ. Dept.)
Commentator: David Dranove (Northwestern U., Kellogg School)

3:45 4:00 pm Coffee Break

4:00 5:00 pm

Title: Does Malpractice Liability Keep the Doctor Away? Evidence from Tort Reform Damage Caps
Presenter: David Matsa (MIT, Econ. Dept.)
Commentator: Jonathan Klick (U. Fla. Law School)

5:00 6:00 pm

Title: The Impact of Liability on the Physician Labor Market
Presenter: Eric Helland (Claremont-McKenna College, Econ. Dept.)
Commentator: Amitabh Chandra (Harvard U., Kennedy School)

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Policy Reforms

9:00 10:00 am

Title: Medicare-Led Malpractice Reform
Presenter: William Sage (Columbia U. Law School)
Commentator: David Hyman (U. Illinois Law School)

10:00 11:00 am

Title: Improving Medical Malpractice Liability by Allowing the Insurers to Take Charge
Presenter: David Rosenberg (Harvard U. Law School)
Commentator: Ed Morrison (Columbia Law School)

11:00 11:15 am Coffee Break

11:15 am 12:15 pm

Title:
Presenter: Kip Viscusi (Harvard Law School)
Commentator: Max Schanzenbach (Northwestern Law School)