Following a national trend towards capping medical-malpractice awards, D.C. doctors have asked the city to limit the jury-awarded sums that they claim have pushed medical liability insurance premiums to unsustainable highs and are forcing them to consider moving out of the District, reports the W. Times.

In a press coference yesterday, the Medical Society of the District of Columbia — which represents 1,800 D.C.-based physicians — said that the average malpractice award of $584,338 has pushed insurance premiums far beyond what they can afford. A report by a D.C. insurance company found that D.C. obstetricians and gynecologists, following a national trend, paid a premium of $139,528 this year, an amount that’s set to increase 11 percent by 2006. Mayor Anthony Williams introduced legislation in July 2004 capping at $250,000 the awards for non-economic damages, but it failed a Council vote. A city spokesperson said Williams was looking to re-introduce the legislation.

Increased attention has been given to medical malpractice lawsuits and their impact on insurance premiums in recent years — from George W. Bush and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, public officials have argued that tort reform is the best way to stem rising health care costs. A recent study in Texas by the University of Texas School of Law, though, found otherwise.

The image above is of none other than the infamous Dr. Nick Riviera from “The Simpsons” — a character intimately associated with medical malpractice.