A 59 year old woman's kidney is taken out by a surgeon's mistake. A baby is born with brain damage because doctors missed signs of distress clearly shown on the fetal monitor. A 55-year-old woman dies because a radiologist failed to see a lump on a mammogram. These are examples of real life medical horror stories.
In the United States, more than 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors. That's more deaths than caused by the flu, pneumonia, and diabetes combined. It's the equivalent of two 737-jet planes crashing each day for an entire year. See www.98000reasons.org for more details.
Yet with these mind boggling numbers of preventable errors, (we're not talking about bad outcomes here) some misguided members of congress and state legislators are talking about restricting the patient's rights to bring meritorious claims. These are the same folks who preach personal responsibility but not when it comes to doctors who make deadly mistakes. Why shouldn't doctors and health care providers be personally responsible for the harms they cause?
Only a fraction of the nation's doctors commit most of the malpractice. The most significant way to reduce the cost of medical malpractice is to emphasize patient safety by reducing the number of preventable medical errors. One solution is that Medical Societies need to do more to remove the "bad apples" from their midst. See www.justice.org.
Trial lawyers, unjustly vilified by conservative talk show hosts and right-wing legislators, are the proud men and women who stand up and fight for American citizens when it comes to important issues of patient safety.
Over the past century trial lawyers have justifiably received much credit for forcing manufacturers to make safer cars, safer toys, and safer drugs. They have made hospitals, factories, and construction sites safer. They perform good works on a daily basis - volunteering and doing pro bono work in their communities. Even the most cynical critic somehow winds up in a trial lawyer's office when a loved one of theirs is injured or killed as the result of someone else's neglect.
Consumers must insist on a medical system that protects them, and does not take away their rights. There are many areas where doctors and lawyers can agree. Doctors shouldn't have to spend hours fighting with insurance companies to get paid. The government should pay doctors at realistic rates and not shortchange them. And the doctors need to sue their medical malpractice for gouging them on their premiums. It is a proven fact that there is no connection between the high premiums some medical specialties pay and the frequency of medical malpractice cases. In fact, the number of medical malpractice cases brought has steadily declined.
In the past decade 46 of the 50 states have passed so called "tort reform" laws. No new ones are needed now. The only thing these laws have accomplished is to take away or limit public rights of citizens to bring meritorious cases. The only beneficiaries of these changes are the greedy insurance companies. If they had their way in an ideal world, they'd love to collect premiums and never pay any benefits. They are the true villains in this health care debate and, fortunately, American citizens are beginning to understand this.
In summary, trial lawyers spend a lot of time and money making certain that only meritorious malpractice cases are brought. Since trial lawyers are only paid if they recover a settlement or jury verdict, there is a built in disincentive to pursue "frivolous" lawsuits.
During this national health care debate and coming debates in your states, please make sure you demand that your legislators do not take away your rights. Demand that he or she do all they can to work for measures that improve patient safety so that one day soon the number of deaths from medical mistakes can be drastically reduced.
