|
medpundit |
||
 |
 |
|
Thursday, August 29, 2002The financial cost and the threat of lawsuits is demoralizing to those physicians who continue to practice. The effect is not only on the current physicians but will also affect the quality of future doctors. Few talented people will chose a career that requires prolonged years of training to enter a profession of high risk, high stress and high demand, with reimbursement determined by a third party, government regulations that direct how one practices and a malpractice system that calls into question anything but perfect results. ..People have to realize, however, that a bad medical outcome is not always a result of negligence. ...As far as limiting the award for pain and suffering, this can be accomplished without penalizing the person who has actually suffered the result of negligence. The current system allows the plaintiff's lawyer to take 50 percent of the amount awarded; if the award is for $5 million, the lawyer will get $2.5 million. This seems to be excessive, and invites abuses. The system is not concerned with justice or truth but only with winning the case. I suggest the government set up a fee schedule to pay plaintiff attorneys the same way it does to pay doctors. This would preserve the appropriate compensation to the injured person but still lower the overall payout. Now there’s an idea. Make lawyers beholden to the same compensation system as physicians. No doubt the number of lawsuits would drop dramatically. posted by Sydney on 8/29/2002 07:27:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
|
