Effects of the $36 million malpractice award: Doctors, patients lose; lawyers win. “And doctors want to point out that everyone will be impacted by this $36 million jury award.
Fleishman says, ‘It comes from society, we all pay it one way or another. Health care premiums are skyrocketing on an annual basis.’
That doctor involved in the lawsuit, Dr. Peter Doelger, has been named a top doctor by Connecticut magazine.
The law firm that won the malpractice case, Koskof, Koskof and Bieder, say they have won the top four largest malpractice settlements in the state.”
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{ 14 comments }
I wonder why none of those doctors had anything to say about the merits of the case or the child involved.
I’m sure that family understands how important it is that they make $250,000 a year as opposed to $225,000.
It also didn’t appear that any of those doctors had much to say about how much their insurers pay their officers. Wonder why? I guess you don’t want to put your friends in a bad light when you can simply go after a child with CP. After all, that kid can’t defend himself.
Hi There,
I am a Canadian family physician (although I do not do deliveries only for lifestyle reasons) and am very distressed at the recent payout of $29 million USD.
Have not physicians considered pooling all their cash and utilizing one malpractice insurancer provider. This is the set up in Canada. There is one malpractice provider. My malpractice is about $1500 per year. However, an OB/GYN has Canadian malpractice dues of about 25-30K (I think)
Just food for thought.
Waynemd in Canada
Medical malpractice is being utilized a social insurance. However, it is inreality available to very few individuals who have a poor outcome. The only patients insured by the medical malpractice system are those who have a large enough case to interest a lawyer, who have a serious enough case to play well for the jury, and something that can be made to stick to some deep pocket.
Most patients injured as a result of substandard care will miss having a sufficiently meritorious appearing case or a case with large enough fees to interest a lawyer. These patients loose.
Vastly greater numbers of patients have great care without a shred of substandard practice, yet have lousy outcomes. This is called fate, and these patients are SOL also.
Real malpractice needs a negative incentive for the health care system and the individual practitioners within it. Real patients need a social insurance system to help them out when shit happens and there is no malpractice award to fund their future needs.
Okay, Gasman, what do you suggest? Specifics, please. How you qualify, who decides, how much you get. Your idea sounds like the already existing social security disability, medicare, and welfare. Doesnt’ result in a big payout, but instead over time, with the same result. Maybe not as much as people would like, but there is ’social insurance’.
The bonus to the MDs by doing away with medmal? It costs the MDs nothing, except as they are tax payers like the rest of us — and becuase there are many more of us non MDs than MDs, the costs are largely shifted to the rest of us, and all the MD’s assets are protected.
Is that what you have in mind?
Real social insurance for healthcare is just a full frontal assault from the AMA away, but that organization prefers to fight a basically dishonest battle for tort reform. This priority of personal income over social good by the most well-off players in the system is why I have lost so much respect for physicians. I suppose that tort reform (income enhancement) is something they can get all doctors to back while actually helping people is a project that would be too divisive for their membership.
OB-GYNs need to do what the trauma surgeons in Vegas did: Tell the public to all go fuck themselves and stop working. It’s the only way they’ll get the publicity they need to get this system fixed. You’ve got to be a complete idiot to continue working in a system where every day you go to work you may end up in a court for months having your competence questioned because of a bad outcome. Every time I meet an OB-gyn resident I think to myslef, what ’s wrong with this person? How could they have been so stupid to go into this profession? Like having a target on your back?
“This priority of personal income over social good by the most well-off players in the system is why I have lost so much respect for physicians.”
Prove this moronic statement – show me the data to support the absolute stupidity of your comment. You and CJD always ask us for proof and come after us like bats out of hell for making generalizations, but it’s OK for you to do the same? So can I comment on the greed of trial lawyers who prioritize their income over any award monies their clients win? God forbid!
“tort reform (income enhancement)”
That statement is even more asinine than the first one.
ismd, no need to attack me when you’re mad at Elliot. As I told you before, if I made a conclusory statement that was unsupported, I’ll be glad to admit it or back it up. Just ask.
And I don’t claim my motives are any more or less altruistic than that of a physician’s. Although I rarely handle med mal, and never any of much size, I don’t work for free on those kinds of cases anymore than you work for free. That doesn’t mean we both don’t care about our clients/patients and their interests, though.
CJD
“I don’t work for free on those kinds of cases anymore than you work for free.”
Wrong! I do, at times, work for free. I’m obligated, under state law, to see patients in the hospital who may not be able to pay, ie charity care, uninsured, etc ( and I’m not including Medicaid). Do I get paid? – yeah, right. Are the uninsured a bigger risk in terms of potential malpractice? – you bet they are. But if I don’t take care of them in the hospital, my license is on the line. The bottom line is that those of us who practice in the hospital have to care for the uninsured. So, yes, CJD, we do work for free at times.
If you’re getting a salary, then you are not working for free.
Anon 10:58 AM,
I’m a private practitioner, and not salaried by the hospital. I’m on the voluntary medical staff. My salary is dependent upon the monies I’m able to bring in. So any care I provide that I get no reimbursement for is free care.
“priority of personal income over social good by the most well-off players in the system is why I have lost so much respect for physicians.”
Well coming from someone like yourself Elliot I will consider that statement a compliment. Tell me Elliot why have I never seen you or your ilk at 03:00 when I am desperately trying to save someone’s life. Why have I never seen you or your ilk when I am crossing off my bills on families who are overburdened and don’t qualify for medicare because it was “the right thing to do”. Why haven’t I seen you offering constructive arguments as opposed to personally profiting off a broken system. Your statement shows you for the person you really are.
CJD:
“I don’t work for free on those kinds of cases anymore than you work for free”
You just don’t get it. We work “for free” every day. The difference between you and me is I don’t pontificate about how I have done “5 hours” of “pro bono” work this week. This is just another day at work in my field.
“You just don’t get it. We work “for free” every day. The difference between you and me is I don’t pontificate about how I have done “5 hours” of “pro bono” work this week. This is just another day at work in my field. “
You’ll have to point me to where I’ve pontificated on the subject. What about you anonymous – are you on salary? I can see where Ismd does free work, but are you on salary? If you are, then pipe down.
CJD
“are you on salary? I can see where Ismd does free work”
No I am not end of story.
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