Is the Civil Litigation System is Unfair to Physicians?



Is the Civil Litigation System is Unfair to Physicians?

Introduction

According to some estimates, American physicians, surgeons and nurses make approximately three million mistakes every year. The vast majority of medical errors cause no short- or long-term harm to patients, but a minority proves to have an adverse effect of some kind. Some medical mistakes result from negligence on the caregiver's part. In legal terms, negligence refers to the failure of a professional to employ his or her skills effectively in a given situation. Other mistakes, however, are classed as mere "human error"--the ...