Among the facets of American life that cynics take issue with is the practice suing of a physician. Some believe that the “sleaziness” often associated with those who practice the legal profession manifests itself in the trying of frivolous lawsuits against medical treatment providers. In fact, the word “frivolous” has become almost synonymous with any other adjective describing a personal injury lawyer’s day-to-day modus operandi. This is due to the fact that politicians supporting tort reform have created a media lynching of trial lawyers, blaming them for the rise of health care costs and the scarcity of good doctors who might otherwise practice medicine were it not for “inhibiting costs” of liability insurance.
Such claims are false. In a recent blog, we outlined how Governor Perry’s tort reform initiative in Texas failed to bring down health care costs and failed to increase the health of his constituents. Since he enacted the laws, health care costs have risen and more people have become uninsured. He argues that there are, however, more doctors practicing in the state of Texas than before the bill was passed. Yes, that’s true; but the population of Texas has also seen a spike, and relative to those figures, the amount of new doctors practicing in Texas is quite small — and certainly not an improvement.
Laws such as the ones Governor Perry enacted, and other politicians have proposed, do more harm than they do good. The founding laws of this country were created in the hopes of securing individual liberties and freedom, and said laws provide courts for the people to assert their given rights. So, when somebody is hurt due to the wrongdoing of another, they should be able to take said wrongdoer to court and be compensated for the suffering they endured (emotional, physical, financial, etc). Medical malpractice lawsuits try to right the wrongs that are committed by doctors and hospitals all over this country. As smart and highly trained as doctors are, they make mistakes. And in the hustle and bustle of a big hospital, many technicalities are over-looked and while the neglect may be unintentional or accidental, the results can be fatal.
Let’s take a look at some figures of medical malpractice here in the United States. According to the Journal of American Medical Association:
So, overall, 225,000 people die each year because of the negligent actions of medical providers. That’s a lot of people. Furthermore, many call the trial lawyers greedy; the term “jackpot justice” has been associated with these lawyers in the past, inferring that they just sue doctors left and right to make a quick buck, without regard to the legitimacy of the issue. On the contrary, it looks like the doctors might be the greedy ones.
Take a look at the figures listed at #4 above. 12,000 people die each year as a result of unnecessary surgery. 12,000! Now, why might someone have unnecessary surgery? Could it be that doctors convinced them to have the(incredibly expensive) surgeries? Oh, no! You could never accuse a prestigious doctor of doing something like that, right? Only a lawyer could be greedy like that.
If lawyers are called greedy, doctors should be held to answer for their similar actions – the only difference between the two, in this case, is that 12,000 people die each year as a result of “frivolous” surgeries. I’ve never heard of anyone dying because of a “frivolous” lawsuit.
Before you jump on the bandwagon in opposition to trial lawyers, take a look at the numbers. Hundreds of thousands of people die each year at the hands of negligent medical providers. Trial lawyers try to rectify the wrongdoing of the doctors. When a horrible incident emanates in a hospital, trial lawyers often try to settle the issue in a courtroom by making sure the victims and their families are compensated for their losses. Now, I can’t comprehend what’s so wrong about that.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@aronberglaw.com.
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