MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

Medical Malpractice and Tort Reforms

Medical Malpractice and Tort Reforms

Introduction

In U.S. law, when a person is wronged or harmed by someone else, he or she can sue for compensation in civil court. While some states place caps on the amount of money that can be received for a harmful act (or tort), federal policy makers have long debated whether to place national limits on victim compensation. Recently, efforts to reform the nation's tort system have intensified, but they remain the subject of debate.

The primary purpose of tort law is to provide relief for damages that occur from a harmful act and to deter others from committing that act. Some torts are also crimes, such as physical assault or murder. Others, however, are acts that do not break any laws but still create victims in need of compensation (Rothe, 2006). For example, a doctor who harms a patient by failing to provide adequate care may be found to be negligent and to owe that patient damages, even if that doctor's actions cannot be considered criminal.

In tort lawsuits, the injured person could be entitled to damages that cover a wide range of expenses, including lost earnings, pain and suffering, and additional medical expenses. In cases of corporate negligence, the company being sued could also face punitive damages, which are not needed by the victim but which aim to punish the company for its behavior.

Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other types of managed care providers have dramatically changed the face of health care in the U.S. Consumer groups and some lawmakers have accused managed care companies of cutting too many corners with patient care (Facts on File, 2006). Many contend that the companies are more concerned with profits than with patients. 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.

In the U.S., the main course of redress for victims of medical errors is to file a malpractice lawsuit. Patients who have been harmed by some type of medical error often file such lawsuits against the caregiver or caregivers whom they believe to be responsible. In cases such as Lehman's, in which patients die at least partly because of a medical mistake, surviving family members may file the suit (Rothe, 2006). Malpractice lawsuits typically seek some amount of monetary compensation for the patient's pain and suffering (punitive damages), along with reimbursement of the patient's medical bills, lost wages and insurance costs (compensatory damages). In some cases, litigants have received multimillion-dollar settlements from hospitals or doctors who were found guilty of malpractice. Hospitals and medical associations also suspend or fine doctors who have committed malpractice (Goldberg et al., 2008).

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Supporters of malpractice suits say that such suits provide a key incentive for doctors and nurses not to make errors that could harm or even kill patients. They contend that malpractice lawsuits are an effective way to send a message to medical caregivers that carelessness and sloppiness will not be ...