barrier for suing a doctor?

Question

In this day an age everyone seems to be suing their doctor for the stupidist things.

I have a minor bump on my lip from an accident at age 2 that took 10 stitches. The doctor swore before repairment that I'd have a crooked mouth but it ended up being normal. I heard that nowadays people would sue their doctor over that. (I seriously think that doctor's highly underpaid)

Some doctors are now so afraid of being sued that they won't do risky but necessary procedures because they're afraid of law suits. My friend's son needs a tumor removed on a vital part of his brain but no doctor is willing to operate because they're afraid of being sued if the kid dies.

Do you think they're should be a law that creates a barrier on where a patient can sue his/her doctor? if yes, where should that barrier be?

Also define in your mind what is a frivolous lawsuit.

Answer 1

There is a stature of limitations, so even if you wanted to you would not be able to sue your doctor from when you were 2.

I don't think doctor's should have any barriers or protections. If they mess up, they should be able to be held accountable. But on the other hand, I disapprove of frivilous lawsuits. We need to be more reasonable as jurors when handing out awards to patients.

Answer 2

Don't believe everything you read. This whole "frivolous law suit" scare is total B.S.

You said we should all "make up in our mind" what constitutes a frivolous lawsuit. We don't have to do that because it's defined in the law: It's a lawsuit that has no merit. When a lawsuit has no merit, the defendant files a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment and the suit is thrown out-- frivolous lawsuits don't make it to court-- ever.

You hear about jury verdicts that sound big, but once you realize all the facts, it doesn't usually seem so excessive.

Remember the McDonald's coffee case? Here's the real story which you likely don't know:

http://www.centerjd.org/free/mythbusters-free/MB_mcdonalds.htm

As for your friend's case with the tumor-- I don't believe it. If a doctor follows the standard of care he/she will not be sued. That's all they're required to do. People die in surgery everyday. That stuff happens. It's usually not malpractice. If it is, however, the family of the deceased should be able to hold someone responsible.

Money damages is a really poor substitute for a death, but it's all we have. It's all we have under the law-- and a lot of people are trying to take that away from us or limit recoveries.

Think of it this way, though-- if a bad man killed my cousin, sending the man to jail would be a poor substitute for our loss-- but it's all we have under the law. It doesn't bring him back-- but we would not begrudge a family of a deceased for calling the cops, would we?

This whole "tort reform" thing is spearheaded by the insurance companies-- think about it-- they have the most to lose. It's not about healthcare, it's about corporate billionaires trying to make more billions.

Most doctors are good. However, 90% of the malpractice is committed by less than 10% of the doctors. This is because states don't discipline bad doctors diligently.

Anyway-- there's WAY more to it, but I'm done babbling. Research the issue before you make ridiculous generalizations. Frivolous lawsuits don't really exist-- if they're filed they don't last long. Also-- personal injury attorneys work on contingency fee bases-- that is, they don't make an hourly wage, they get paid on a percentage of recovery. Filing frivolous lawsuits would be a good way for those lawyers to lose money and go out of business.

Answer 3

I believe that the doctor and patient should enter into a contract.

The contract should outline exactly what a doctor is willing to do to treat that patient, and the contract should only be signed by the patient IF they agree to any and all points held within the document. Once the contract is entered into, regardless of outcome, the patient cannot sue...they were fully informed!!

Malpractice suits are far too common...although there are some doctors out there that are fully deserving of being sued!

Answer 4

I totally understand what you mean about people suing everyone over the dumbest things but, I really don't think they are underpaid. Teachers... now they are underpaid. =) IMO they should get paid more but the schools need to take action on which teachers aren't doing their job as well. That's horrible though about your friend's son. =/ GL and I wish them the best.