Ethical Health Partnerships
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As always, I welcome your constructive comments and suggestions about the material on this website and how we can all be most effective in co-creating the kind of healthcare system we all want. |
Dawn Lipthrott
July 24, 2005
Orlando Sentinel: Letters to the Editor
Malpractice system fails
The recent medical malpractice case in Seminole County is one more example of a flawed system.
If there was negligence, medical expenses and care for the child should be paid. The court ordered the defendants to pay $25.4 million. In addition, the hospital settled for $10 million, of which lawyers will receive $4.5 million (only $100,000 less than the family), plus $700,000 in expenses. Reports state that attorneys plan to seek additional fees from the court awards.
The current system works for personal-injury attorneys and a very few patients, but not for the majority of patients, physicians or the health-care system. Most patients affected by injury or other events who have significant medical expense and loss of income have no recourse because there was no negligence.
Defensive medicine increases, insurance companies raise premiums, fees go up, doctors stop delivering babies or doing high-risk procedures. In Florida, obstetrician-gynecologists and general surgeons are expected to pay more than $200,000 a year for only $250,000 of malpractice insurance. It's absurd.
We need a new system that addresses patient injury in a way that is fair to everyone. Options might include health courts or a no- fault system for avoidable injuries with set fees like those used in other countries.
One thing is clear: The current system is an injustice to all of us.
Dawn Lipthrott
Winter Park
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Document types: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Column Name: OPINION Reader Views
Section: SEMINOLE {ZONE} SEMINOLE
Dawn Lipthrott, LCSW is a relationship therapist in Winter Park.