Although Connecticut's 2005 state medical malpractice law was aimed at preventing frivolous lawsuits and reducing high malpractice insurance rates, it's had the unintended consequence in many cases of keeping seemingly legitimate lawsuits out of Connecticut's court system, an Associated Press review has found. Since the law took effect, the number of malpractice cases filed in the state has dropped 20 percent to an average of 292 per year from an average of 364 annually, state records show.