One of the changes Dr. Ribner would like to see is a $250,000 cap on jury awards for non-economic damages. Other demands include identifying witnesses in medical malpractice lawsuits by name, so that they can be "held responsible for their testimony," he said. "In New York, the tort system is horrible for everyone, not just for the medical malpractice lawsuits," Dr. Ribner added.

He said that the "outrageous cost" of liability insurance has impacted every patient in his state, and the fact that physicians must pay up to $180,000 a year in liability insurance points to a system that is "broken and needs to be fixed."

"These are dollars that should be going to better patient care and better accessibility to medical services," Dr. Ribner added.

The Chicago-based American Medical Association also supported rallies in the New York state, with the AMA president-elect Dr. Donald Palmisano attending a rally in Brooklyn, N.Y., and giving media interviews alongside Dr. Ribner.

"New York had been designated by the AMA as one of the 12 original crisis states. New York is still a state in a very severe crisis," Dr. Palmisano told National Underwriter. "Rates here are one of the highest in the nation, and the jury awards are also one of the highest in the nation," he said.

The biggest rally was held in lower Manhattan in New York City on the steps of Manhattan State Supreme Court, where hundreds of doctors and their supporters participated. Overall, "several thousand" doctors attended yesterday's statewide rallies, Dr. Ribner said. Doctors in Albany also held a mass rally, with hundreds of physicians taking part in the event. Other major cities that held rallies include Rochester, Syracuse and Utica.