Many states have versions of “tort reform” laws that were enacted, in part, to limit the number and outcome of medical malpractice lawsuits. Does Washington have
The new podcast Dr. Death shows in part how caps on damages prevent lawsuits that make medicine safer.
A recent study found that doctors who order more tests for their patients were faced with fewer lawsuits. Whether that is because they were practicing "defensive medicine" or giving more thorough and comprehensive care is still an open question.
Another two papers have come out examining the effects of tort reform – and specifically caps on noneconomic damages. The conclusions: caps don’t save money, but do increase the likelihood that a plastic surgeon will come to your state.
The New England Journal of Medicine concludes that medical malpractice lawsuits do not result in the practice of "defensive medicine." What they do result in is making it more difficult, and sometimes impossible, for patient victims to recover anything for their harms and losses.
Medical Malpractice Tort Reformers rely on falsehoods when arguing for barriers to justice for malpractice victims. Caps on damages, in particular, does only harm to those who have suffered as a result of malpractice.
Recent efforts by Republicans on a national level to pass healthcare "reform" have included draconian provisions that would have made medical malpractice cases much for difficult to bring.
A recent bill introduced in Congress would have the effect of greatly reducing the ability of victims of medical negligence from recovering for their injuries
Proponents of tort reform in medical negligence cases sometimes argue that one big problem that is caused by the threat to doctors of a lawsuit is defensive medicine. One reason this is largely a myth is because it would be Medicare fraud.
Medical negligence claims are lightning rods for this divisive thinking. On a macroscopic level, we all know the battle positions by heart; there is no need to rehash the tort reform debate for the audience of this publication.
