Medical negligence problems

Medical negligence problems

It really is a shame when doctors are more concerned about a lawsuit than they are with saving a patients’ life. But it isn’t their fault- that is what the system of medical negligence has given us today. Doctors in emergency rooms across the United States face a daily fear of being sued under medical or clinical negligence theories. There are two sides to every story, and some do argue that it is necessary to have medical negligence laws to protect the patients. They argue that, without something to check the doctors, the patients have no protection against injuries bestowed onto them by the doctors. However, it has become very apparent in recent years that all of this medical negligence litigation has spun out of control. Out of control to the extent that the number one fear on the mind of many doctors is the fear of a lawsuit. How can doctors effectively work under such a fear? At the heart of the problem is all of the frivolous litigation that necessarily results from medical malpractice laws. Everybody wants to “win the lottery” so to speak, so patients and lawyers alike take their stab to “hit it big”. 



Many figure the system is the system, so they might as well take advantage of it. What they fail to take into consideration, however, are the broad devastating effects it can have on our nation’s healthcare system. Even our outgoing President, George W. Bush, agrees that frivolous lawsuits based on medical negligence pose an overwhelming burden to our nation’s health care system. “One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits. The risk of frivolous litigation drives doctors -- and hear me out on this -- they drive doctors to prescribe drugs and procedures that may not be necessary, just to avoid lawsuits. That's called the defensive practice of medicine.” President George W. Bush said. If even President Bush agrees that it is a devastating problem, it is evident that President Obama must do something to stop the madness!