Personal Injury Law

Trial Lawyers Discuss Health Care Tort Reform

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The trial lawyer?s lobby is worried that medical malpractice tort reform could become a bargaining chip in the health care debate. They are lashing out at any attempt to include medical malpractice limits in health care reform bills. Citing the fact that 98,000 people are killed every year by preventable medical err, the president of the American Association for Justice believes that this bargaining tactic will greatly harm victims of medical malpractice. Studies have shown that medical errors are the sixth leading cause of death in America. However, numerous independent analyses have shown that malpractice lawsuits contribute a tiny fraction to the cost of health care. Costs related to medical malpractice, including damage awards, settlements and insurance rates, constitute just a fraction of health are spending nationwide. Therefore, limiting the legal rights of patients will do nothing to lower the costs of health care. To read more about the tort reform, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on September 14, 2009 (boomark / email).