Reply #12: capping lawsuits won't stop/curb the "problem" [View All]

[radfringe]

lawsuits are only ONE part of the 'problem'

the other parts are insurance companies continuing to provide mal-practice coverage to doctors and other medical professionals who have established a 'history' of mal-practice suits -- insurance companies should be setting a limit on how many times they would cover/settle these suits and then cancel the coverage when that limit is reached on that particular medical professional.

every lawsuit that is settled/awarded ends up increasing medical costs across the board -- risk pooling or share the liability

limiting the amount of awards will more likely increase the number of lawsuits -- a lawyer would have to have two or three times the number of active cases. let's say a lawyer now makes $50k average on a lawsuit, the award limits go into effect and now the lawyer is only making $10k per case... to maintain his previous fee level, he would have to take on 5 new cases....

AMA and states continue to license/certify medical professionals that have developed a history of malproactice -- again some sort of limit should be in place that will yank the licenses when the limit is reached

yes I know that there are people out there that would sue at the drop of a hat -- but most people end up sueing because they get the runaround and it leaves them with no other recourse but to sue. up until the point that a person starts contacting lawyers - they are pretty much left on their own to resolve their complaint. A community 'omnibudsmen' organization to deal with medical issues may help resolve the complaint and avoid going to court

in 'blaming' it all on lawsuits is just like blaming it all on people... hey if people didn't sue then the costs wouldn't go up, it's their own fault ( sheesh :eyes: )

briefly:

1. Insurance companies/medical licensing boards need to set limits, and yank coverage/licenses when that limit is reached

2. Community medical advocacy centers to help people resolve their complaints, assist them in getting the answers/results.

3. Clearing house for law suits -- call it a pre-review to determine the merits of the case. A board - made up of a doctor, nurse, lawyer, specialist in the particular medical field that the lawsuit targets, medical advocate, couple of people from outside of the medical/legal field.

the board would review the case to determine the merits and would recommend whether or not it should be pursued in court or suggest alternate options for resolution.