Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

Health Care Reform and Medical Liability Reform: The President Needs Doctor Support...What's the Outcome?

The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC (Medical Errors, Medical Mistakes and Medical Malpractice in North Carolina). A large metropolitan online newspaper reports in a recent article on the President's push for healthcare reform. An interesting point the article makes is that the President will need the support of the heatlhcare industry (doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers) in order to get health care and medical costs down so that the plan to provide insurance coverage to all Americans can work. This means that the medical industry may have more leverage over the content and effect of any health care reform package, since their cooperation is necessary for the passage of such reform. This article focuses pretty heavily on the issue from the side of the medical profession, and includes more opinions and information from the American Medical Association. Only a small "blip" is included from the perspective of trial lawyers, who represent the victims of medical negligence. Doctors say they have to practice "defensive medicine" due to the threat of medical malpractice lawsuits; but in my opinion, either you need the test or you don't. If the standard of care requires the medical test, then the medical test should get done. If the standard of care does not require it, then there is no negligence and no concern over a medical malpractice suit. Lawyers who represent the victims of medical mistakes and errors in North Carolina already have rigorous pre-suit requirements for having doctors review the care involved, so that before a medical lawsuit is filed, that doctor has already determined that the standard of care was not met. This is clearly a highly political issue, and not easily decipherable by the general public. It will be interesting to see what the President does with this. So far, North Carolina has avoided any significant medical negligence or other tort reform such as caps on pain and suffering damages. Regardless, if you have been the victim of a surgery error, failure to diagnose type error, serious infection (MRSA, etc.) caused by the negligence of health care providers, you may wish to consult with an attorney in order to determine whether you have the grounds for taking legal action. Read more at my Medical Malpractice page on my website. My office generally provides free consultations and evaluations for North Carolina medical malpractice claims. The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC. Toll Free 888.435.7156.