The gentlebirth.org website is provided courtesy of
Ronnie Falcao, LM MS, a homebirth midwife in Mountain View, CA

Courts Rule Against Increased Malpractice for OBs working with Midwives

Yes, CNMs won an important case in Washington DC in regard to malpractice carriers who increased their premium from $300 to $12,000 a year in the form of a surcharge to physicians who have professional associations with CNMs. The DC Superintendent of Insurance overturned the company rates and re-instated the former "nominal" $300 fee. The case determined that NO actuarial tables exist anywhere in the US that would justify the practice of surcharges based on the insurance company's claim of "vicarious liability" to the physician. The nurse-midwives slam-dunked the doc-owned insurance companies.

The article is called "The Myth of Vicarious Liability" -- Impact on Barriers to Nurse-Midwifery Practice, by Susan Jenkins, JD; JNM, Vol 39, No 2. March/Artil 1994. It is chock full of wonderful tidbits about malpractice law such as the "obsolete" legal doctrines of "captain of the ship" (the doctor) and "borrow servant" (the nurse)upon which the theory of vicarious liability was predicated. I have a two page synopsis/pertinent excerpts that i can fax to you if you're REALLY interested. It's good.

Midwives in California should take note as the physician-owned malpractice companies in CA have recently announced a $12,000 surcharge for docs who provide the legally-mandated "supervision" to both CNMs and direct-entry midwives.