Putting A Band-aid On Medical Malpractice Law
By: Jay Anderson
Medical malpractice law governs doctors or other medical professionals to prevent them from treating patients improperly or with negligence which results in injury or death. On a broad scope, legitimate medical malpractice is simply a claim that is brought against a medical or healthcare professional due to a failure to adhere to the applicable standard of care.
Medical malpractice may take a variety of forms. The doctor in question may have delayed treatment of a medical condition that had already been diagnosed; he or she may have failed to provide the appropriate treatment for a specific medical condition; or the doctor may have failed to properly diagnose a medical condition. With differing state malpractice laws, the procedure and laws governing lawsuits will vary from one state to the next so it is important that both patient and doctor understand the laws of the specific state in which the doctor is practicing. However, if the doctor does make a mistake, but there is not medical harm or death as a result, the patient will not be eligible for compensation of damages.
One exception to this rule regarding medical malpractice law is the segment of informed consent. Under this section of the medical malpractice laws a patient must provide informed consent in order to have a medical procedure performed. Informed consent is a legally binding document that indicates the patient has been properly and thoroughly informed of all of the dangers as well as benefits of the procedure. Once thoroughly informed, the patient indicates that they have been informed of these risks and consent to the procedure with a willingness to accept those risks. When informed consent is not properly acquired, the doctor may stand to have a medical malpractice claim filed against him or her even if the patient did not sustain any harm as a result of the procedure.
As the world becomes more technologically advanced it becomes more of a fast food nation where everything is faster. This rush to get things done has extended to the medical industry as doctors and healthcare professionals are under more and more pressure to make diagnoses as quickly as possible. That, coupled with medicine moving more into a business of profit, leaves much more opportunity for physicians to make mistakes in an industry where there is very little room for error. This attitude and practice makes medical malpractice law even more vital.
Yet another problem with this new environment is that doctors and patients spend increasingly little time together, so that oftentimes, simply taking a patient history that is detailed enough to diagnose the problem is increasingly difficult. This, too, increases the chance for misdiagnosis or missing important symptoms. This makes medical malpractice law take an even greater role in improving both patient care and protecting doctors who have been erroneously sued.
While medical malpractice law protects doctors and healthcare professionals from frivolous or unfounded lawsuits, they do still occur. While the actual numbers for frivolous lawsuits are unknown due to insurance companies choosing to settle claims out of court, it is estimated that anywhere from 25% to as much as 50% of medical malpractice lawsuits that are filed and are determined to be frivolous are still paid. This is one drawback to allowing claims to be settled out of court; there is no checks and balances system. This action has led some doctors to counter sue patients whom they believe to have filed an unfounded or frivolous lawsuit.
Doctors must carry medical malpractice insurance so that they may be protected in the event that they are sued, regardless of whether the suit is found to have merit or not. Even the most vigilant of doctors may be sued; no one is exempt. Doctors who are sued must contact their insurance company immediately so that they will have access to the many resources available to counter the suit if it is unfounded.
Medical malpractice law at present has been deemed ineffective by all parties involved in many cases, and can leave both patients injured by malpractice and innocent physicians as victims. Many experts believe that because the attorneys on either side are the ones who profit regardless of outcome, this is where improvement needs to start. Many believe that a new system needs to be put in place where efficiency is the key, and both patient and physician rights are taken into consideration first and foremost. The current adversarial system, with one attorney pitted against the other simply to "win," may be the reason for the inefficient and often unfair current medical malpractice system.
Article Source: http://www.ezarticles.info
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