True Cost of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits – It May Surprise You

A new study reveals that the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits in the US is running at about $55.6 billion a year. The $45.6 billion of which is spent on defensive medicine practiced by physicians seeking to stay clear of lawsuits. The amount comprises 2.4% of the nation’s total health care expenditure.

The numbers are the result of a Harvard School of Public Health study published in the September edition of Health Affairs, purporting to be the most reliable estimate of malpractice costs to date. Some of the more vocal opponents to health care reform have long argued that doing away with medical malpractice lawsuits would go a long way towards solving a major cost problem in the system. Given the small percentage of the health care dollar spent on medical malpractice issues that would hardly appear to be the case.

History of Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in America

The history of medical malpractice lawsuits in America dates back into the 19^th century. Prior to the early 1800's, medical malpractice was almost unknown in the United States. However, a large number of malpractice lawsuits inundated the courts between 1835 and 1865. Most of these medical malpractice lawsuits were based over joints mistreatment and about 70 to 90 percent of the litigation involved fractures and dislocations with imperfect results or deformities such as shortened or crooked limbs.

Need to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

The Doctors are among the hardest professionals in the world to question. When it comes down to it, most people simply do not have enough knowledge to determine whether a doctor is doing their job well or not. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to situations where someone who is the victim of medical negligence ends up not filing a lawsuit and facing all of the costs that negligence brought on without any help at all.

When Should I consider a claim for Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?

The estimated percentages of malpractice lawsuits in USA are also discussed.

A lot of people think that they have a medical malpractice lawsuit if their doctor makes a mistake while treating them. This may or not be true. The truth is there's a lot more to a medical malpractice lawsuit than a patient getting hurt. Usually, any malpractice case is a long and complicated legal matter because it's not always fast or easy to prove that a doctor or another medical professional made a mistake and you were harmed by that mistake.

Medical Malpractice, A Crime or a Mistake

Doctors are the source of hope when masses come across ailments, and when expectation level raises so does the responsibility. But how many times do we see that a doctor has been accused of negligence while taking care of a medical case. Doctors are humans, and we all have our off days don’t we? No doctor in any part of the US comes into the medical room with an intention to cause harm or damage to any of its patient. They are always looking to help people and reduce the suffering of humanity.