When a doctor or other medical professional makes a mistake, a patient may choose to bring a lawsuit for malpractice against the doctor. Reaching back to the beginning of organized civilization, this is far from a new concept. However, the area of medical malpractice law has changed drastically in the United States over the last few decades. Many have raised concern that the possibility of increased malpractice lawsuits has risen even higher with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act of 20120 (PPACA). New legislation and technologies make medical malpractice law a constantly-transforming field. In order to understand the current state of medical malpractice law in America, it is important to look at the cases and legislation at the …show more content…
In 1375, the first reported English case of malpractice was reported and quickly followed by the advent of a sort of insurance for health care providers. (Schmidt, Heckert, & Mercer, 1991). The first case of medical malpractice in the United States was Cross v. Guthrie (1794). This case centred on a suit brought by a husband who believed his wife had died due to the result of a mastectomy performed unskilfully and ignorantly. The husband also alleged cruel treatment. The number of medical malpractice claims continued to increase at a fairly regular rate until about 1949, when the largest settlement to date was $115,000. (Flemma, 1985). After this, new technology began to change and extend medical …show more content…
Over the last several decades, many studies have looked into the effects of different legislation upon the number of malpractice claims made. Though an attempt has been made to draw conclusions, an increased number of patients or visits does not appear to have a direct relation to the number of malpractice lawsuits. Under PPACA, the number of individuals with health care coverage is expected to increase by 32 million at full implementation. (Rothstein, 2011). It seems almost certain that this would increase the number of malpractice claims. However, the new legislation - and the technology that allows it to be implemented - will let health care providers work together more easily. This will improve initial care as well as specialist and continuing
In the plaintiff’s suit, he alleged the surgery did not go well because the hospital had hired a surgeon, who was not competent or qualified enough to perform the surgery therefore; the hospital was just as negligent as the doctor was. Before the trial date, Dr. Salinsky and his insurance company, Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin, settled with plantiff out of court on the basis they will be released from the suit upon payment of $140,000 (Johnson v. Misericordia Community Hospital). Although, Salinsky settled with plaintiff prior to trial, there was still “question of whether he was negligent in the manner in which he performed the operation on July 11, 1975, remained an issue at trial, as it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to prove that Salinsky was negligent in this respect to establish a
Learning from what Dr. Anna Pou had to face with the lawsuits she was dealing with makes me cringe. As Healthcare professionals, having to worry of possibly being sued for believing what is right for the patient or as a whole for the hospitals health is ridiculous. Healthcare professionals like Dr. Pou, have taken the Hippocratic oath, and one of the promises made within that oath is “first, do no harm”. Often time’s society look at courts cases as a battle versus two oppositions, but Dr. Pou’s case it is not. In her statements from national television she states saying her role was to ‘‘help’’ patients ‘‘through their pain,’’.
Explain the issue or dilemma using information from the readings in the book and other sources.
What is malpractice? The given definition is improper, illegal, or negligent professional activity or treatment, especially by a medical practitioner, lawyer, or public official. These cases are occurring more all over the state than they should be due to human era. The people at the hands of doctors are being let down as well as left with disfiguration or even death. These cases are leaving people to question their surgeons as well as the nurses attending with them.
Medical error occurs more than most people realize and when a doctor is found negligent the patient has the right to sue for compensation of their losses. Debates and issues arise when malpractice lawsuits are claimed. If a patient is filing for a medical malpractice case, the l...
For hundreds of years doctors and other medical professionals have gotten away with little to no punishment when doing wrong in the medical field. Medical Malpractice happens in the care of the reckless medical professional and can be stopped by the correct supervision and discipline. Although medical malpractice is something huge, it could be eliminated by just taking a little extra time and review the care that is being given to a patient. Would you allow someone to give the care you’re giving to others, to your own family? You need the bed, so you discharge early. Patients aren’t properly informed. Legal documents aren’t thoroughly explained. Shortage of staff, hospital downsizing, or mergers. (“Nursing Center”) The only thing that the medical team should be worried about it the care of all of the patients. The medical field would become more advanced if the actual medicine was practiced the right way. Lives are being compromised everyday with incompetent doctors, practicing medicine. Medical Malpractice can be solved with the buckling down of the medical professionals, and the administration that watch over these professionals. Medicine is a complicated field, where lives, money, and careers are put on the line for such an important matter. Together, we can lessen, even eliminate Medical Malpractice all
During the 1980’s, medical-related situations continuously occurred that made patients question their insurance policies as well as the privacy of their health care. Congress worked to create a bill containing strict rules regarding insurance policies and availability for one to keep their insurance if they are to move jobs. These rules were soon applied to all medical facilities and faculty and titled the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act”.The H.I.P.A.A. policies brought about change in professionalism, medical standards, taxing, and enforcement. Throughout history, maintaining patient privacy has always been a problem in the medical field. Patients have the right to their privacy and the information that they do not want to disclose should be kept privately. Since this was an overly occurring problem, the congress believed that they should make a law to fix this problem. On August 21, 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed by congress and President Bill Clinton.
Furthermore, in the case of comparing the Patient Centered Medical Homes against Obamacare services the odd speak for combining some of the techniques that are used in the PCMH to build a more stable health care system. “Maria Vezina (2013) reports knowledge about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed in March 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2012, is key in understanding the varied regulatory changes that have been made to our U.S. health care system. PPACA is the most significant regulatory overhaul of U.S. health care since Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. The entire health care team needs to be prepared for initiatives introduced to better manage the care for a greater population of people with improved
...gery Medical Group. The history of health insurance in the united states. (2007). Retrieved from: http://www.neurosurgical.com/medical_ history_and_ethics/history/history_of_health_insurance.htm
Medical malpractice cases are difficult for the families who have lost their loved one or have suffered from severe injuries. No one truly wins in complicated court hearings that consist of a team of litigation attorneys for both the defendant and plaintiff(s). During the trial, evidence supporting malpractice allegations have to be presented so that the court can make a decision if the physician was negligent resulting in malpractice, or if the injury was unavoidable due to the circumstances. In these types of tort cases, the physician is usually a defendant on trial trying to prove that he or she is innocent of the medical error, delay of treatment or procedure that caused the injury. The perfect example of being at fault for medical malpractice as a result of delaying a procedure is the case of Waverly family versus John Hopkins Health System Corporation. The victims were not compensated enough for the loss of their child’s normal life. Pozgar (2012) explained….
Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.
Negligence, as defined in Pearson’s Business Law in Canada, is an unintentional careless act or omission that causes injury to another. Negligence consists of four parts, of which the plaintiff has to prove to be able to have a successful lawsuit and potentially obtain compensation. First there is a duty of care: Who is one responsible for? Secondly there is breach of standard of care: What did the defendant do that was careless? Thirdly there is causation: Did the alleged careless act actually cause the harm? Fourthly there is damage: Did the plaintiff suffer a compensable type of harm as a result of the alleged negligent act? Therefore, the cause of action for Helen Happy’s lawsuit will be negligence, and she will be suing the warden of the Peace River Correctional Centre, attributable to vicarious liability. As well as, there will be a partial defense (shared blame) between the warden and the two employees, Ike Inkster and Melvin Melrose; whom where driving the standard Correction’s van.
From my point of view, I think that increase in medical litigations is one of the most important factor of health care crisis. Americans spend far more per person on the costs of litigation than any other country in the world. The excess of the litigation system are an important contributor to “defensive medicine” – the costly use of medical treatments by a doctor for the purpose of avoiding litigation. As multimillion-dollar jury awards have become more commonplace in recent years, these problems have reached crisis proportions. Insurance premiums for malpractice are increasing at a rapid rate, particularly in states that have not taken steps to make their legal systems function more predictably and effectively. Doctors are facing much higher costs of insurance.
Lee, M. J. (2013). The patient protection and affordable care act: Better coverage, worse access. Will it really improve patient safety? The association of Bone and Joint Surgeon. Doi 10.1007/s11999-013-3315-x
The statute of limitation refers to the length of time in which a plaintiff can file a claim. The principle behind statute of limitation is that lawsuits cannot be improved as time passes by. For one, clear details of the facts can be blurred as memories can fade and witnesses may die, go away, or lose interest of the case. Ideally, court prefers to settle the case as soon as disputes develop (Warner, 2010). However, for professional and product liabilities, with injuries may take time to manifest, many courts adapted different rules such as postponing the running of the statute until the injury has been reasonably discovered. The length of time differs among states and branches of law (Danzon, 1985). The long and deferred statutes of limitations lead to long tail of claims and contributed majority of medical malpractice and product liability (Danzon, 1985). In this section, statutes of limitations for medical malpractice in two states are compared.