You hear it all the time in the news. People in the health care profession claiming that medical malpractice lawsuits are unnecessarily driving up costs. Many of them argue that doctors are engaging in “defensive medicine” in order to avoid potential litigation. There are rumors about doctors ordering scores of unnecessary tests in efforts to forestall any failure to diagnose claims down the road.
Regardless of those opinions, patients have a right not to be harmed or placed at unnecessary risk of injury by those who are entrusted with their care. In fact, two recent papers have shown that tort reform has had little to no effect on the U.S. health care system. Tort reform is essentially an effort to reduce the amount of non-economic damages victims are allowed to seek in medical malpractice cases.
The co-author of the papers is a University of Illinois researcher in health care finance and regulation. One of the studies looked at the nine states, including Illinois, that joined a wave of states enacting tort reform between 2002 and 2005. Ultimately, the researchers discovered that enacting tort reform did not result in a significant overall cost savings.
Arguably, a better method at reducing costs is holding doctors responsible for their actions. The medical profession is a noble cause, and doctors should be lauded for their service to the community. However, it is important to remember that doctors are also people just like us who work at jobs every day. They, too, can become prone to burnout and exhaustion just like any other workaday employee. Just like any exhausted employee, doctors can also make mistakes or overlook important details in their work.
Our law firm examines the details of your medical malpractice claims from your immediate surgery to your recovery and post-op evaluations. We also check to see that your condition received a proper diagnosis. Based in Chicago, our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers provide experienced representation for malpractice victims throughout Illinois. Prospective clients are urged to contact us via phone or online for a free initial consultation.