Report Calls Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Crisis a “Hoax”
A Case of “One Bad Apple Can Spoil the Barrel”
The belief that the United States is in the throes of a medical malpractice lawsuit crisis can be blamed on just a tiny group of negligent doctors, according to “The Great Medical Malpractice Hoax” just released by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
Just 5.9 percent of doctors have been responsible for 57.8 percent of all medical malpractice payments, the study found. Each of these doctors had at least two payments, while conversely, the vast majority of physicians — 82 percent — have never had a medical malpractice payment, and a few physicians have even been involved in numerous malpractice litigations and, in most cases, still continue to practice, flourish and prosper.
The study, covering the 15-year period from 1990 through 2005, analyzed data from the National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use File that details all malpractice payments made on behalf of doctors as well as disciplinary actions against doctors.
“We’ve been telling the legislature and the public about this for years. Now we finally have the data to prove it,” said Allan Zelikovic, head of the Medical Malpractice Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg in a press release commenting on the report. The law firm is one of the largest and most successful in the country dealing with pharmaceuticals, accidents, injuries,
pollutants and malpractice.
Real crisis is inadequate patient safety
Part I of the analysis shows that the claims of business and medical lobbies are “exaggerated and unsupported by the facts.”
Part II examines data related to physician error and discipline, finding that “the real medical malpractice crisis continues to be inadequate patient safety, rather than the legal system.”
The report claims that there is a grievous lack of accountability on the part of a small group of doctors who commit a substantial number of avoidable errors that seriously injure patients.
The report contends that the business lobby seeks to protect its interests and distract people from medical negligence by calling for limits on malpractice litigation.
Healthcare providers, said the report, would be better served by striving to improve patient safety than giving credence to myths perpetuated about the court system.