Subj : Re: Um...no comment?
To   : Angus McLeod
From : Frank Reid
Date : Sun Sep 18 2005 10:46 am

  Re: Re: Um...no comment?
  By: Angus McLeod to Frank Reid on Sun Sep 18 2005 00:22:00

 > I'll agree that lawsuits can result in ludicrous judgements for trivial
 > matters.  But to legislate a cap is to give free license to those
 > companies that feel the cap is within their budget.

Most of the truly ludicrous awards do get overturned or reduced on appeal, as
the hospitals and insurers have far deeper legal pockets than the consumer. 
But the insurer (and the doctor) can't *count* on that.  Thus, they must
continue to increase malpractice insurance costs to protect against that
occasional ludicrous settlement that does get by.  An obstetrician friend of
mine said his insurance costs have literally *doubled* just in the past year,
to a point where his income doesn't compare favorably even to high-end IT
positions!  That's after eight years of medical school and 15 years of
practice!  He's seriously considering giving up the practice for less stressful
and more lucrative pursuits.  It's a damn shame...

The fact is that twelve "Joes" off the street shouldn't be allowed to make
decisions on culpability and to award an individual $100M.  Real damages can be
easily calculated, e.g. how much income was lost, how much will ongoing care
be, etc.  However, as someone suggested, punitive damages should only be
assessed by a body of medical jurisprudence that is trained and focused on only
that function.  No, we certainly don't want any hack with a sharp blade
performing open-heart surgery.  But we also must understand that the human body
is a delicate machine, and that not every medical procedure is going to be
effective (or even correct!)

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