Victims not to Blame for Problems with Malpractice
Admittedly, costly medical malpractice insurance is a realistic problem. The solution most often voiced is putting limits on jury awards in malpractice trials. The debate over the rise in cost of premiums needs to stop demonizing trial lawyers if solutions are to be found. Trial lawyers are a tempting target for retribution, but it's the people they represent who would be the victims of dollar limits on damages for pain and suffering. With HMOs and insurers trying to keep down costs, doctors are taking casualities, some leaving the area or limiting their care. Others are altering their practices, such as ob/gyns deciding to stop delivering babies. The assertion that all this is being driven by greedy lawyers is unconvincing. The size of jury awards has gone up in recent years, but according to the Center for Justice and Democracy payouts from verdicts and settlements have raised no faster than the rate of inflation in medical costs.
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