Posted by
Roxanna M. on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:27:26 AM
I just read a column entitled "Trial Lawyers Threaten Patients' Health" by David A. Ridenour of the National Center for Public Policy Research, "a conservative, nonpartisan think tank on Capitol Hill".
One would think that somewhere in this article, mention would be made of just how trial lawyers are doing this, and one would be wrong. Instead, the column contained the following:
"After settlement talks failed, he took the medical center to court and won a $25 million award from local jurors."
"A Chicago jury rendered a $22 million verdict against a hospital and a doctor . . ."
"An exodus of top physicians is already occurring in New York, in large part because of rising malpractice insurance premiums . . ."
"Hawaii's medical association says climbing malpractice insurance costs have created a physician shortage . . ."
"A decade ago, Philadelphia had 19 hospitals that delivered babies. Today, only eight obstetric facilities remain, in part because of the relentless rise of malpractice premiums . . ."
Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and people will start to believe it, and people believe that trial lawyers are the root of all evil. But as this column makes abundantly clear, juries and rising malpractice insurance rates are causing the problem.
Contrary to what many believe, trial lawyers have no control over the award in a jury trial. They can ask for whatever they want, but juries render the verdicts. To blame juries, however, would be to blame ourselves . Therefore, we relieve ourselves of any responsibility for the problem by blaming evil trial lawyers.
There's a large and vocal segment of the population that wants us out of Iraq because the death toll is mounting, even though the death from the war in Iraq can't even begin to compare to the slaughter of the innocents here in America.
One doctor once pegged deaths from medical malpractice at 400,000 a year. I have heard 100,000 a year. I have also heard 200,000 a year. Nobody knows for sure because nobody wants to talk about it. Taking the higher figure, that's nearly 1,100 people per day being killed by health care providers. Even at the lower figure, that's nearly 275 people per day. Are we supposed to take this lying down? Is a medical license also a license to kill? No. We are entitled to be compensated when a loved one is wrongfully taken from us.
Trial lawyers don't commit medical malpractice, and they are not responsible for what juries award. They are the middle men in the process and to keep blaming them for all the woes is ignorant and simply disgraceful.