Was There Ever a Medical Malpractice Crisis?

The issues surrounding medical malpractice have been hotly-debated topics for healthcare professionals and politicians for many years. At one point, some believed that there was a crisis resulting from the number of lawsuits that were being filed. However, Pennsylvania’s Governor Rendell stated a while back that the commonwealth’s medical malpractice crisis was over. But the question that’s been on the minds of many is, “Was there really ever a medical malpractice crisis in the first place?”

Protecting the Tortfeasors Instead of the Victims

At the time of Governor Rendell’s proclamation, he stated that certain state reforms had led to less malpractice suits, lower payouts, and lower insurance rates for physicians, hospitals and other healthcare facilities. His statement came right after a House Republican news conference that pushed for measures to limit lawsuit abuse and substantially lower the costs of doing business and practicing medicine within the Commonwealth.

The so-called malpractice crisis, however, appears to have been nothing more than the brainchild of politically-driven individuals who were interested in protecting tortfeasors from being held responsible for injuring victims and bringing harm to their families as a result of medical malpractice.Placing the blame on the victims who file medical malpractice lawsuits does absolutely nothing to promote patient safety, which should always be of utmost importance. In fact, by connecting the rising cost of health care with frivolous medical lawsuits, politicians and insurance companies are, in essence, using doctors as weapons against attorneys and their injured clients, leaving victims with fewer options when it comes to obtaining justice after having been hurt due to a healthcare professional’s negligence.

Get Help if You’ve Suffered an Injury Due to Medical Malpractice

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a personal injury or accident, please contact Gersowitz, Libo & Korek, P.C. personal injury lawyers serving injured victims in New York and New Jersey at (201) 541-8540.