Medical Malpractice Reform

Medical Malpractice Reform

Medical Malpractice Reform

Medical malpractice cases arise when a patient is harmed by a doctor or nurse or other
medical professional who fails to provide proper health care treatment. Fortunately, doctors,
nurses, and hospitals make mistakes in a small number of cases. But within that small minority
of cases, certain types of errors crop up more often than others. The doctor and hospital mistakes
that make up the bulk of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Medical malpractice cases are regulated by complex rules that can vary considerably from state
to state, so it's often essential to get advice or representation from a lawyer who has experience
handling medical malpractice lawsuits.

According to a 2006 study, medication errors harm approximately 1.5 million people in the
United States every year. Medication errors can occur many ways, from the initial prescription to
the administration of the drug. For example, a patient might be harmed if the doctor prescribes
the wrong medication. Or the patient might be harmed by medication that the doctor prescribes
to treat a misdiagnosed condition. In a hospital setting, the right drug might be given to the
wrong patient.

However, by far the most common medication errors involve dosage -- the patient gets too much
or too little of a drug. This can happen several ways. The doctor writes an incorrect dosage on
the prescription. The prescription is correct, but the nurse administers the incorrect amount.
Equipment that administers the drug malfunctions, causing a large dose of medication to be
administered over a short period of time. For example, this can happen when a defibrillator has a
dead battery or an intravenous pump has a dislodged valve.

Medical Malpractice Reform

In recent years, doctor groups, insurance companies, and some patients have criticized
medical malpractice taking legal action, arguing that it's expensive, unpredictable, and
inefficient. Some patients have criticized medical malpractice taking legal action, arguing that it's
expensive, unpredictable, and inefficient. These critics claim that medical malpractice lawsuits
have caused doctor and hospital liability insurance rates to increase, which in turn drives up
healthcare costs and forces some doctors to stop practicing or avoid performing certain
procedures like delivering babies. Reformers argue that the threat of malpractice claims also
increases the use of "defensive medicine," placing additional costs and burdens on the health care
system.

A number of fetal injuries can be caused by medical malpractice, including brain injuries such as
cerebral palsy and seizure disorders, fractured bones, and damage to nerves that control the arms
and hands. However, keep in mind that these injuries are more often caused by something other
than medical malpractice. A physician or obstetrician's negligence can happen during childbirth
or long before.

If negligent medical treatment is provided during the pregnancy, it could harm the fetus or the
mother. Some examples of negligent prenatal care include the physicians failure to diagnose a
medical condition of the mother, such as preeclampsia, Rh incompatibility, hypoglycemia,
anemia, or gestational diabetes. They may also have a failure to identify birth defects, to identify
ectopic pregnancies, or to diagnose a disease that could be contagious to the mother's fetus such
as genital herpes or neonatal lupus.

Medical Malpractice Reform

Those in favor of preserving the status quo of medical malpractice law counter that the recent
surge in medical malpractice litigation is tied to an increase in treatment errors by doctors and
other caregivers. They point out that liability insurance premiums once adjusted for inflation are
lower than the previous decade for all but a few doctors that practice in certain specialty areas. In
addition, they argue that many factors contribute to liability insurance rate increases and the
higher cost of healthcare. This is all made so to blame it all on medical malpractice litigation is
to ignore the true reasons for the health care crisis in our nation.

Medical malpractice occurs when a patient is harmed because a doctor or other medical
professional failed to perform competently under accepted standards of medical care. In order to
prove medical malpractice, it must be shown that the doctor was negligent in some way. They
are not reasonably skillful and careful in treating the patient. A doctor's negligence might be
established by proof that the doctor failed to diagnose or misdiagnose. Another negligence is an
illness or condition. The doctor may have also not followed proper medical procedure in treating
a patient, or forgot to warn a patient of known risks of a procedure or prescription drug.

Misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis account for a large percentage of medical

Medical Malpractice Reform

The key in proving a medical malpractice claim based on misdiagnosis or delayed

A doctor's negligence during childbirth could cause injury to the baby and harm to the mother.
Common medical errors during childbirth include the physician or obstetrician's failure to
anticipate birth complications due to the baby's large size or because the umbilical cord got
tangled. It may also include failure to respond to signs of fetal distress, failure to order a cesarean
section when one was appropriate, or incompetent use of forceps or a vacuum extractor.

For patients who have suffered an injury due to medical malpractice, three kinds of
damages are usually available through a lawsuit. General damages is compensation for the
suffering caused by the malpractice in patients feeling physical and mental pain and suffering.
Special damages are the more quantifiable expenses linked to the malpractice. Special damages
include medical bills and reimbursement for lost income due to time missed at work.

Punitive damages are meant to punish a physician or medical facility for conduct that is seriously
egregious where a patient was intentionally harmed. For example Punitive damages are rare in
medical malpractice cases. If a patient died as a result of medical malpractice, the patient's heirs
may recover from two damages. The first damages that occurred from the time of the malpractice
up until the patient's death. The second damage is for the family's future economic loss due to the
patient's death.

Medical Malpractice Reform

Some medical malpractice claims arise from mistakes made in the operating room. A surgeon
might be negligent during the operation itself puncturing internal organs, operating on the wrong
body part, or leaving surgical instruments in the body, or the nursing staff might be negligent in
administering post-op care, which could result in complications like serious infection.

Doctors must fully inform their patients about serious risks involved in any proposed
medical procedure or treatment so that the patient can decide whether to go forward, in light of
the danger. In both medical and legal terminology, this is called "informed consent." However,
doctors don't have to inform patients about every single risk involved in a procedure, only the
important ones. In determining what a doctor must disclose in terms of the risk linked to certain
treatment, states generally use one of two standards. Would another competent doctor have
disclosed the risk? Would a normal patient have made a different decision if the risk was
disclosed? In some situations like emergencies a doctor is not required to get informed consent
before treating a patient.

Nursing malpractice happens when a nurse does not fulfill duties in a way that a normally
competent nurse in the same situation would. That negligence injures the patient. As in medical
malpractice, however, not every mistake or mishap rises to the level of negligence. If a nurse
commits malpractice while caring for a patient, hospitals are often on the hook but not always
but not always. A hospital may be legally and financially responsible for a nurse's negligence if
the nurse was an employee of the hospital. Another negligence occurs when the nurse was

Medical Malpractice Reform

fulfilling a job duty when the patient was injured, and the non-employee doctor did not maintain
proper control over the nurse.

An attending doctor may also be responsible for the nurse's actions if the doctor was present, and
the doctor had control to prevent the nurse's negligence.

For the most part, hospitals are not responsible for a doctor's medical malpractice if the doctor is
not an employee of the hospital. Most doctors are independent contractors and not employees.
There are several exceptions to this rule.

A hospital might be responsible for a non-employee doctor's medical malpractice if the hospital
does not make clear that the doctor is not an employee. But most hospitals avoid this problem by
informing patients of the doctor's non-employee relationship in admission forms.

When a patient is treated in an emergency room, the hospital often does not have the opportunity
to inform the patient about the doctor's non-employee status. Because of this, hospitals are often
responsible for an ER doctor's medical malpractice.

Some states allow patients to sue hospitals for the medical malpractice of a non-employee doctor
if the hospital gave staff privileges to an incompetent or dangerous doctor.

As for reforming the medical malpractice litigation system are as varied as they are
numerous. Some of the major proposals that have emerged in recent years. Establishing special

Medical Malpractice Reform

medical malpractice courts where a medically-trained judge hears and decides cases. Critics of
this proposal point out that it would remove litigants' right to a jury trial. Capping damages in
many states have already put this reform into effect. Some limit the total amount of damages a
plaintiff can recover. Other states cap only general damages such as pain and suffering,
emotional distress, and the like, but not special damages like medical bills, lost income. Many
states also limit the amount that a patient's attorney can receive. This shortens the time period in
which a patient must bring a lawsuit after being injured.

Medical Malpractice Reform

References
Kessler, Daniel P. (Spring 2011) Economic Perspectives Evaluating the Medical Malpractice
System and Options for Reform Volume 25, Number 2, pp. 93-110
David M. Stoddert (May 11, 2006) The New England Journal of Medicine Claims, Errors, and
Compensation Payments in Medical Malpractice Litigation
Variation in Expert Opinion in Medical Malpractice Review
http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/UI/app/images/assets/asa_logo.png
Troyen A. Brennan (December 26, 1996) The New England Journal of Medicine Relation
between Negligent Adverse Events and the Outcomes of Medical-Malpractice Litigation
http://www.lubinandmeyer.com/cases/caselisthtml