Has hell frozen over?

Trial lawyers are asking regulators to consider seeking a rollback of malpractice rates at Connecticut Medical Insurance Co., saying the premiums for doctors appear excessive in light of the company’s profits and surplus.

Carl D. Anderson, president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, sent a letter Tuesday to Insurance Commissioner Susan F. Cogswell urging a “thorough examination” of Connecticut Medical’s malpractice rates.

More likely, they don’t want high malpractice rates to be an excuse for tort reform and caps:

Trial lawyers have been clamoring for lower medical malpractice premiums in recent years for at least two reasons. The lawyers want to make sure the insurance remains available and affordable to physicians because it’s a source of money for malpractice victims and attorneys’ fees.

In addition, the lawyers object to caps on pain and suffering damages and don’t want high premiums to be used to justify them. So far, Connecticut legislators have not passed such limits on damages, despite heavy lobbying by physicians and insurers.