There has been a lot of heat coming out of Washington, DC over tort reform and the need to limit what victims of medical malpractice can recover if they prove their case in a court of law. Notice I wrote “heat” as there has been very little “light” in this discussion.
I especially like the discussion over doctors ordering unnecessary medical tests solely to protect themselves from being sued if it is later discovered that such a test may have correctly diagnosed the patient’s medical problem. The tort reformers label this “defensive medicine” and argue that it drives up the cost of medical care for everyone. I call it BS!
My law firm has sued doctors and hospitals for over 25 years in a state (Virginia) which goes out of its way to protect doctors in every way imaginable. In those 25 plus years, I have sued doctors for failing to correctly read (or read at all) the results of a test they ordered. I have sued doctors for ordering tests that were never run/conducted…the results of which would have diagnosed my client’s medical problems early enough to successfully treat them.
BUT I HAVE NEVER, IN OVER 25 YEARS, SUED A DOCTOR FOR FAILING TO ORDER A TEST…SO PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME AGAIN HOW WE HAVE SUCH A BIG PROBLEM WITH DEFENSIVE MEDICINE DRIVING UP THE COSTS FOR MEDICAL CARE.
I’M WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU………..