If you were driving drunk down the road and caused a serious car accident you would expect to be held accountable for the injuries that you caused. Yet many in our society don't want medical professionals to be held responsible for injuries they cause. Unfortunately, the talk of medical malpractice caps has no connection to the wrong doing of the physician.
Government studies have shown that more than 90,000 people die a year due to medical errors. The theory behind caps is that costs will be regulated by making sure that the people that are injured by these errors won't bring lawsuits. Unfortunately this thinking is all wrong. Why is it wrong? It is wrong because our system is based upon the idea that those people that are successful in the marketplace and get good results are rewarded and those who are not as successful in the marketplace get penalized. This is capitalism plain and simple. Yet some people don't like capitalism. Maybe they don't like democracy. Juries are the same people that vote in our elections, US Citizens. Why is it that some politicians and powerful interests believe that you can't trust the American people.
Instead they want to give immunity across the board regardless of what the doctor has done. These means that doctors who come to the ER intoxicated or on drugs and kill someone, will be entitled to these legal protections.
I suppose it would be nice for physicians to not be held accountable or responsible for their wrong doing. It will make doctors and hospitals far more profitable, but it will certainly lower the standards and result in patients being less safe. If you don't think doctors who have done really bad things should receive specialty protections, make sure to tell your elected officials. Otherwise, sometime in the near future when you have been wronged by a doctor or a hospital, you won't have any rights at all.
