Virginia Medical Malpractice Blog - Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.

Too many lawsuits or too much malpractice?

Watching the news and listening to politicians you would assume there are far too many frivolous lawsuits that are driving doctors out of business.  Is there any truth to those claims?  Well the facts show that the frivolous lawsuit theory is nothing more than a myth according to a recent article published in the Canadian Medical Journal.  Click here to read the article.

This article puts the myth to the test.  The evidence is that most victims of medical malpractice never file a lawsuit.  Studies have shown that almost 200,000 Americans die each year from medical malpractice. Calculated another way, 1% of all hospital patients are injured due to malpractice, yet only 4% of victims of malpractice will ever file a lawsuit.  The study also found that the legal system does a good job of weeding out frivolous cases from meritorious cases. 

Examples of malpractice include medication errors, misdiagnosis, hospital falls, pressure ulcers, foreign objects left inside of a patient, and surgical errors. 

In my opinion, the focus needs to be on reducing the incidence of medical malpractice, not reducing legitimate malpractice claims. In other words the best way to reduce the number of malpractice lawsuits is for doctors and hospitals to commit less medical malpractice.  That's where the focus should be.

If you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice you are invited to call us at (804) 288-1661 or email us for a free consultation.  We only represent patients in medical malpractice claims.

Regards,

Joshua Silverman