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Tort reform is critical. Any suggestions?

The Spin Meister

Well-Known Member
Gold Member
Nov 27, 2012
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An altered state
Tort reform is critical for getting healthcare costs under control. Doctor's liability coverage is outrageous and zer0Care made no attempt to rectify that. No surprise since lawyers are just about the biggest donors to the D party.

I don't agree with caps on damages that limit awards to medical costs and loss of income. If I had been paralyzed by a drunk or stoned surgeon as a young man, just paying the medical bills and lost income wouldn't cut it. Losing out on the enjoyment of life is huge and should be compensated for.

But there are lots of abuses in the system that need corrected. One thing I will do when I become King is to ban all sealed settlements between plaintiffs and hospitals/doctors. Its ok to settle but the agreement should be public. That way the public can see what doctors/hospitals get sued the most and have to settle. I have heard that 80% of bad outcomes are caused by 10% of the doctors. Let us know who are the problems and maybe they will be forced to improve or be weeded out.

I know that some procedures are much higher risk so here is how I would handle that. Have a company like Martindale Hubbel study the data and then rank the Drs/Hospitals based on specialty and risk. They already rank law firms/lawyers so they have the expertise to do so in healthcare.

I would also stop what I call 'shotgun' lawsuits. Say you are in a wreck, go to the ER, get admitted, and die ten days later or end up severely, permanently injured. People like this often sue claiming a treatment error worsened their condition. The plaintiff's attorney will sue every doctor that saw the patient, sometime 10-15 doctors and even include nurses and key staff members. They then let the court system determine who is at fault, if any. The problem is that every single person named in the suit must contact their liability provider...who then must have experts review all records and documents and prepare a defense. That means a cost of several hundred thousand per Dr. Then most get dropped but are not compensated for costs or lost time.

Either stop that practice all together by requiring the plaintiff's attorney to do their due diligence or require them to re-imburse the liability firm. This will make them focus more on the errors made instead of just shooting in the dark and hoping to hit a target. That will reduce liability costs dramatically and thus reduce healthcare costs.

Same for hospitals, labs, radiology, and other providers.

Any other suggestions on how to reduce baseless legal issues in healthcare?
 
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