Personal Injury Law

Medical Malpractice Reform Can Have an Unhealthy Impact

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Tort reform proponents assert that medical malpractice costs are a significant factor in rising health care costs, yet they are clearly wrong. Medical malpractice premiums account for only a tiny fraction of our medical bills and have not risen the way that health care costs have. Also, tort reform advocates tend to disparage the performance of the jury system. Usually juries only compensate patients who are true victims of medical malpractice. Advocates also forget that the right to a jury is a constitutionally protected right. Problems can be addressed with modest changes in the current system. Many victims of medical error feel better with an apology. Also, we need to compensate more victims with less-severe injuries in order to simplify the small claims process. Caps on recoverable damages only punish those who are victims of grave medical errors. To read more about tort reform, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on November 18, 2009 (boomark / email).