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Actually Lurker, one case was settled out of court. This happens many times, not because of guilt being established, but because one party is desirous of the case to go away because they lack the resources for a huge, years-long court battle. This happens A LOT in medical malpractice suits, particularly in this day and age of multi-million dollar awards by juries.

As for jury trials, many people decide to go ahead with a jury trial based solely on their innocence and belief that the court system is always fair. If the doc thinks he is innocent, has a good case, will be able to prove it in a court of law, he will not settle and instructs his attorneys to follow through with the suit because of his innocence. However, jury trials are ALWAYS a toss up. Any attorney that tells you he can guarantee the outcome of a jury trial should be fired immediately! There is no way to predict what jurors are going to do or the impressions they will form during litigation.

The insurance companies MUST pay the award settlement if an appeal is not filed, which usually depends on the doc's and insurance company's resources. They ultimately must ask themselves "Do we want to bear the cost of proceeding with this?"

As it stands, Terri's potassium deficiency was established upon her admission to the hospital after her collapse. The $1.5 million award does NOT establish that the potassium deficiency existed PRIOR to that. They were punitive damages for the doc not CHECKING, which is wholly different from establishing that it existed while Terri was under their care.

It would be interesting to find out if Terri's alleged bulimia was discussed during the jury trial. Did she ever complain of feeling faint? Did she ever complain of an oddly beating heart? Did she and Michael discuss her weight loss with the doc? OOOOOOO, I'd love to get my hands on those court papers!