Wino Posted October 20, 2009 Report Share Posted October 20, 2009 I think this idea of malpractice reform sounds interesting and much needed. We will see if it can overcome the trial lawyer lobby. By Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's willingness to consider alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits is providing a boost for taking such cases out of the courtroom and letting experts, not juries, decide their merits.The idea of appointing neutral experts to sift malpractice facts from allegations appeals to conservatives in both political parties. They want to address medical liability as part of health care legislation that's now largely silent on the issue. Trial lawyers remain steadfastly opposed to curbs. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_medical_malpractice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaGo Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 I think the impact of malpractice litigation on overall healthcare costs is overstated by conservatives. The Bureau of Justice Statistics looked at 43,000 cases from Florida, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, and Texas that were closed between 2000 and 2004. The study concluded that: Most medical malpractice claims were closed without any compensation provided to those claiming a medical injury. About a third of claims closed in Maine, Missouri and Nevada resulted in a payout. Among persons receiving compensation, insurance payouts were highest for claimants who suffered lifelong major or grave permanent injuries. In Florida and Missouri claimants with these types of injuries received median payouts ranging from $278,000 to $350,000. That hardly seems like a crisis to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaGo Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 By the way, while the Congressional Budget Office determined that malpractice tort reform would reduce health care costs by $11 billion this year, that actually only accounts for 1/2 of 1 percent of overall medical spending. So while it may help, it's not the urgent issue that the insurance lobbyists would have us believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 If tort reform is the bone Obama has to throw the conservatives to pass the health care bill, then I am all for it. Many think there are just too many lawyers out there chasing those ambulances! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifan Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Lawyers should be valuable members of society but they have earned themselves a reputation for being more interested in money than upholding the Law. I think that anything which helps Obama get his HealthCare Reform adopted and also makes Dr's less afraid of litigation and leaves them free to concentrate on making people better, whilst also preventing too many Lawyers getting rich, cannot be bad!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 Lawyers should be valuable members of society but they have earned themselves a reputation for being more interested in money than upholding the Law. I think that anything which helps Obama get his HealthCare Reform adopted and also makes Dr's less afraid of litigation and leaves them free to concentrate on making people better, whilst also preventing too many Lawyers getting rich, cannot be bad!!! I second the motion. I think it is a tragedy that the US does not have health care for all of the people. Let us hope Obama is successful in this endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted October 21, 2009 Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 And have Medicare benefits extended to people who have paid into the system since inception, but live in another country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted October 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2009 And have Medicare benefits extended to people who have paid into the system since inception, but live in another country. Not likely that this will happen anytime soon or ever. But who knows, if enough people write to their congressman, anything can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 I think the impact of malpractice litigation on overall healthcare costs is overstated by conservatives. I believe you're absolutely right about that. Most states long ago had their own versions of tort reform and it's much more difficult in many states these days to file or pursue a medical malpractice claim. In my state, for example, one must have an expert opinion in hand supporting the claim before one can even give notice that you intend to pursue a claim against a medical professional. I never handled a single medical malpractice case but I recall reviewing quite a few files for a law firm when I was clerking for them while I went to law school (many moons - moons as in "decades" - ago). What really surprised me about the review of those files is that there wasn't a single one where I (having zero medical background other than having watched Marcus Welby a few times...)knew better not to do what the doctor did. The doctors represented in the files I read ought to have had their licenses jerked and I didn't blame any of those particular plaintiffs for going after the particular defendant doctor. I remember one infamous/almost funny case where a #1 draft choice (Heisman winner, I believe) ended up suing the doctor for operating on the wrong knee. At trial, one of the pieces of evidence submitted to the jury was the Sports Illustrated cover page (which was sitting in the doctor's lobby area) which contained a photo of the draftee with a substantial wrap around the bad knee he had (rather than reading the medical file correctly, the surgeon could have just looked at the photo...hehe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted October 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Most states long ago had their own versions of tort reform I think the consevatives are looking for tort reform across the board. I remember one infamous/almost funny case where a #1 draft choice (Heisman winner, I believe) ended up suing the doctor for operating on the wrong knee. Reminds me of the story out of Florida, where the doctor amputated the wrong leg. Ouch! Somebody needed to be sued in that case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Health care reform has an uphill battle. The drug companies are spending millions of dollar to make sure they have their way. This is a quote from an article about Congressman Waxman and some difficulties he is having. "Waxman's loss that day was a big victory for drug companies, which have spent more than any other segment of the medical industry to make sure that they come out winners in the effort to overhaul the nation's health-care system. It's understandable the drugmakers would want a roll-call accounting of who their friends and enemies are, considering the size of the investment they are making on Capitol Hill: in the first six months of this year alone, drug and biotech companies and their trade associations spent more than $110 million — that's about $609,000 a day — to influence lawmakers, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics. The drug industry's legion of registered lobbyists numbers 1,228, or 2.3 for every member of Congress. And its campaign contributions to current members of Waxman's committee have totaled $2.6 million over the past three years." http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0%2C8599%2C1931595%2C00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaGo Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 "In my state, for example, one must have an expert opinion in hand supporting the claim before one can even give notice that you intend to pursue a claim against a medical professional." Yeah, and good luck finding a doctor willing to go on record criticizing the work of another doctor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 I think the consevatives are looking for tort reform across the board. Reminds me of the story out of Florida, where the doctor amputated the wrong leg. Ouch! Somebody needed to be sued in that case. Another case in Chicago where the wrong leg was amputated. Of course, the correct leg had to be amputated too. The guy sued and lost.The judge said he didn't have a leg to stand on, TA DA!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 The judge said he didn't have a leg to stand on, TA DA!!!!! Lol. Obviously, the guy wasn't very well endowed...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WannaGo Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Lol. Obviously, the guy wasn't very well endowed...... Sigh...I know the feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts