European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 08, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse The malpractice crisis the thought of suing l. i or in 1 i or if to. I Jet c f suit ,1 Tia Vij t iter to to j ". Of m,.urii p n a in of . I. Us. Ahn quit i .bmi.mnc1. Or t i Ina or. Jim ,-.-, it -.vi. I Hufi -.liti1 if it1-, not Yoiel 18 Ymir Jown lev Ma-1 to to to. sue you Fot Wethor or not Ana t r m u d to o Post Tut much Tai a Aini . R., readily a1", they Are Umo. Oly Mai to in it kith Ull the erects Tho no doing of h in. Cur i in of a Legal Roc a Mon that or join in hoem accused of overlooking the Doln Caparbi Witeof Modicue to in Tor briny Loi in Lati period years ago Peler Arnu draw a cartoon in ih1 f a a yorker i Hoamg an ambulance Lull of Ono of you lav.1 i a. Will Vivo to qut Oul loads the Driver so we can make room for the patient. " in some Law of dons doctors have become the Golden Poso to be sued of laying an egg. A lawyer in Philadelphia Wen $0 b million for a deceased leu Mui client after shove in Tho jury a film of her on her somewhere out of n on expectations in an already Uil prone society which has Ono Ziwot Tot every 375 off i fans. He fuel for a Piaf practice Ennis was generated. 5y thu ii in 1970s, doctors and hospitals were hit by what Warren Levy a vice president of new York s insurance information . Call a lawsuit suits Havo Arr in from the reply Conict of a woman s Navel Oil Center she won $1 million to the removal of n California Man s Good kidney instead of the cancerous one in the face of i inc Atiq Avion 10 years ago insurers simply stopped coven Brj if dial . In desperation doctors formed their own insurance come arut s. Today these of called Bedpan my tunes cover about half the nations 375,000 doctors. At the tuome time some 43 states considered various changes of he tort syr Fern. The Torja process of correcting injury and negligence six states installed a ceiling on awards for pain and suffering sixteen stains permitted payments of award or settlements in instalments. Many of these legislative acts were overturned on Appeal. Lih Nois and North Dakota declared a Cap on damages unconstitutional new Hampshire said limiting pain and suffering for medical injury violated equal Protection because there were no limits on non medical injury. There were efforts to Mil lawyers tees. Hint diffs lawyers protested this would prevent the poor fro i filing suit since malpractice fees arc usually contingent on the attorney s winning. Otherwise he comes free in any Case several Studi Spott the sum ends up with an average of 28 cents on the Dollar of an award or settlement California passed a wide ranging package which was recently upheld by the u s supreme court that state has a Cap of $250,000 on pain and suffering permits payment Over a number of years sets a scale for Legal Lees and requires Plant ill to declare if they have received other sources of injury compensation to prevent double dipping. The instalment payout or to Aanie. Would tot1 of obvious Bonom to the earner in u recent California Case a paralysed infant will receive $120 million it she lives to Aye 78. Justin Tierne president of the doctor owned tier Cal Mutual insurance co of san Francisco said the changes or i to a flood his company keep per Tunis below the Cost of inflation. Insurance costs in California had risen t j percent yearly m the decade alter 1965. Since the Laws went into effect it has been 7 percent a year the average jury award to about $300.000 below the National average. Chiet Justice Warren b Irger questioned in a speech Public pays High Cost of medical suits in an atmosphere of litigation american Doc i Page 14 the stars and stripes ors Are increasingly practising defensive Medicine extra lob tests and othe procedure of hedge against ,,.n.&u9y p "n3 r wage against suits. The Ama puts the Cost of this of up to $40 billion a year. Sunday 0�c
