As a member of a clinic who has seen our malpractice rates triple in the last few years, I wholeheartedly agree with Greg Tisdel’s Feb. 7 guest commentary on medical liability (“Medical liability: Stop the bleeding”). Washington’s liability system is broken, reforms are desperately needed, and the risk that health care is becoming inaccessible even to those with health insurance is a reality already. And for the uninsured who fall back on the safety net of the Medicaid system, the economic costs are reflected back to each of our pocketbooks as unnecessary costs continue upward.
There is no question that the current medical liability system is decreasing the quality and availability of health care as well as driving up health-care costs.
Without a doubt, a patient who is hurt by a medical mistake should be fairly compensated. But they, and their legal representation, should not be compensated beyond reasonable and responsible limits. It’s time to take a serious look at our medical liability laws and make some significant changes. And perhaps it is time for major change – not just caps and limits. Other areas of society are supported by specialized court systems where trained judges assure that the injured get the compensation they deserve. There is no emotion involved in making decisions, with appropriate compensation including recognition for pain and suffering.
That is what we really need for our patients – a system that fully recognizes the economic damages of every patient’s injuries. Not the current approach where the contingency method of payment of attorney’s fees reinforces a lottery mentality, and the costs of this lottery are subtracted from what is available to those injured by true malpractice.
The Everett Clinic
Everett
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