FRIVOLOUS LAW SUITS----WHY NOT IDENTIFY THEM IF THEY REALLY DO EXIST?

How do we resolve the he-she argument over whether frivolous medical malpractice law suits are a major reason for the high cost of medical care, as “tort reform” advocates claim?

Why not be from Missouri and say “show me”. Don’t show me some old law suit from the insurance archives of outrageous court cases. The claim being made is that the current medical care “crisis” is due to frivolous medical malpractice law suits so let’s focus on current cases.

We will, of course, need to know how many medical malpractice cases are currently pending so that once the frivolous cases are identified we can determine what percentage of the total cases they represent and whether frivolous medical malpractice cases are a systemic problem. Obtaining that data should not be a problem. The medical malpractice liability insurance consortium probably is already keeping track of such things and could easily determine the total number of pending cases if they were willing or forced to do so by, for example, a Congressional committee.

But how do we identify the potential “frivolous” cases to see if they really are frivolous? We don’t have to. The physicians who see themselves as defendants in current “frivolous” medical malpractice law suits simply need to speak up. Clearly, if a defendant doctor doesn’t think the case against him is frivolous, we can assume that it isn’t. We can then take each case that is identified and gather the needed information from the court file to see if the case does appear frivolous. If we have difficulty deciding whether a particular case is “frivolous” we put it in the ‘maybe” category and let a blue ribbon panel take an in-depth look to make that determination.

If it turns out that there are none or that the truly frivolous medical malpractice cases comprise only a very small percentage of the total it would seem we could safely conclude that frivolous law suits are not a significant factor in the high cost of medical care. If the percentage of truly frivolous cases appears to warrant it, the final step would be to identify the financial costs associated with these cases—how much did it cost to defend them and did they result in an award of money to the plaintiff, by settlement or court judgment.

Are “frivolous medical malpractice cases a real problem or is it just a boogie man being used by the insurance and health care industry in their on-going efforts to take away the rights of the seriously injured and their families?

The proof is in the pudding. We’re from Missouri, so show us if the problem is real if you want us to believe you. Raise your hand, physician, if you think you are being victimized by a frivolous medical malpractice law suit.