On Jul 1, 9:46*am, Keith Nuttle wrote:
Upscale wrote:
"CC" wrote in message
Makes me think of the woman suing McD's because she spilled
hot coffee on herself, Seems it is getting so everyone wants to
screw someone for their mistakes.

The problem isn't that everyone is ready to sue at the drop of a hat, it's
because people like your McD's coffee spill woman sue and actually win.
After that happens, the incentive is there for everybody to sue. When the
system decides it's easier to pay off someone than spend the money on
lawyers for court proceedings, than it's exactly the same has hanging out a
sign that says "Free Money".

I believe the largest cost of health care is the insurance for liability
protection that doctors, hospitals, manufacturers, etc. must carry to
protect themselves from frivolous law suits. *While people like to
believe medicine is an exact science, all of the testing done to show
the safety and effects of a medicine is based on statistics. *While the
statistic can define the general trends of the medication, any
conclusions on one individual based on those statistical conclusions are
not valid as each person is different.

If obama wants to reform health care they will place a cap on medical
liability lawsuits. *They also need to define what should be considered
medical malpractice. An bandage left in the patient would be
malpractice, a drug not responding as expected would not.

It won't help. Florida did that in 2003, even though insurance
companies said that capping lawsuit damages won't affect their rates.
http://www.medrants.com/archives/1401 (a random link gotten by
Googling: florida malpractice cap, insurance).

Here's another article in which an actual malpractice insurer says
caps don't help:
http://www.bethjanicek.com/NEWS/4-10-26CapsUseless.htm

The problem with the insurance companies is that they're being hit as
hard as the rest of us in economic downturns. They're answer to
maintain profitability is to raise rates.

-Nathan