Task Force releases contingent fees report

The Task Force on Contingent Fees, an entity of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, has released its Report on Contingent Fees in Medical Malpractice Litigation. The findings of the report have not been approved by the ABA House of Delegates or Board of Governors and do not represent policy of the association unless expressly noted.

Among the Task Force findings are:

• Limitations on fees by a formula recently proposed in Florida and elsewhere risk compromising access to justice by medical malpractice victims.
• The right of people who have suffered injury as a result of medical malpractice to seek redress for their injuries in the courts must be ensured. A fair and reasonable contingent fee is essential to preserve that right.
• Only a small percentage of true medical malpractice events in the United States becomes the subject of a claim. Practically speaking, most physicians have only marginal exposure to medical malpractice claims. Limiting fees by the formula recently proposed in Florida and elsewhere by physicians’ associations would reduce the incidence of meritorious medical malpractice claims and further reduce legal exposure for those who commit medical malpractice.
• Contingent fees rates in medical malpractice actions are not fixed but often cluster around traditional percentages. To prevent unreasonable fee agreements and to foster more efficient claim resolution, clients would be well served by additional measures, some of which are already in practice in states such as Florida, to educate and protect them and to promote bargaining symmetry in lawyer-client fee agreements.

The TIPS Task Force on Contingent Fees was formed in September 2003 to evaluate lawyers’ contingent fee rules and practices and proposals for their reform.

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