A recent poll Associated Press poll found that the majority of Americans give our health care system a failing grade. This includes flaws in the cost of prescription drugs and concerns about access to quality health care. A lack of access is particularly problematic for people of color, as the COVID pandemic has made even more stark the racial disparities are in this regard. Why do most Americans have a bleak view of our health care system?
While just glancing at the headline might allow one to conclude this overall lack of faith in the health care system might generally benefit medical malpractice victims, a closer read indicates that health care providers are victims of our health care system as well. This has resulted in staff shortages and exacerbated access issues. So, while jurors in medical malpractice cases may be more receptive to claims against institutions (hospitals, medical clinics, etc.), it would be rash to conclude that this new poll confirms an increased chance of success bringing claims against individual health care providers.
Further, this societal view that our health care system is failing for want of resources (and thus access) could also be a problem for some medical malpractice victims. Specifically, those harmed by hospitals in smaller towns, especially hospital districts, may find that while jurors agree that the care was substandard, allowing a medical malpractice victim compensation for harm caused to her or him may also directly affect the hospital’s ability to provide care for local citizens in the future. This is one confounding factor that victims of medical negligence in rural districts often have a difficult time wrapping their mind around.
Of course, jurors never hear about insurance available, so they would never know if the judgment for the medical malpractice victim would be paid by an insurance policy (versus directly from tax revenue).
You can read more about this new poll here: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/americans-give-health-care-system-failing-mark-ap-norc-poll/
