Very Few Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Result in Payments to Plaintiffs
by admin on 30/08/11 at 1:31 am
According to a comprehensive study in the August 18 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, only 1 in 5 medical malpractice claims against doctors leads to any kind of payment to the plaintiff. Medical malpractice insurers and doctors groups are quick to cite this study as proof that most claims have no merit, however, the authors of the study disagree with this conclusion. The AP reports that the authors cite influential research in New York state concluding that just a tiny fraction of patients harmed by medical mistakes actually make claims.
The reason for this phenomenon, according to medical malpractice lawyers, is that the high costs of prosecuting a malpractice claim is a barrier to bringing most claims. Unless the patient has catastrophic injuries, many top malpractice lawyers will not take the case. There are significant up front costs for hiring expert witnesses and preparing the case. Doctors, hospitals, and their insurers have significant money and legal firepower, and are often further protected by state law caps on malpractice awards. In Virginia, for example, one must have experts certify the case before it can be filed, and the damages are capped. Thus, usually only very strong cases are pursued. Yet, according to this study, payouts are rare.
Co-author of the study, Amitabh Chandra, an economist and professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Goverment, told the AP that, “A lawyer would have to be an idiot to take a frivolous case to court.” Notwithstanding the authors’ interpretation of their own study, the tort reform crowd will continue to put their own spin on this study and claim that there are too many frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that, as George Bush said, prevent physicians from practicing their love on patients. Why let facts get in the way of propaganda?
