Medical Malpractice or Frivolous Litigation?

It seems that all the time we read articles about the need for reform in the medical malpractice area because of so-called frivolous litigation. The argument always seems to be that claims are being brought which are frivolous and that medical malpractice rarely occurs. The truth is that, like any other human undertaking, malpractice does occur in the field of medicine. Sometimes, the malpractice can be egregious and the mistakes life altering.
Just today we read a story about a lady who had a double mastectomy because of a lab mistake. She was told she needed to have both her breasts removed because she allegedly had cancer. Four months after she had had her breasts removed she received a telephone call that the lab had made a mistake and she never had cancer at all. The lawyers who have taken this case will not be filing a claim for medical malpractice against the doctors but obviously will be filing a claim against the lab. Certainly, this is not frivolous litigation in any sense of the word. And yet, if this lady were to file a lawsuit in the State of Georgia, and she was not working, her pain and suffering claims would be capped at $350,000.00. This is so that the insurance companies’ profits can continue to skyrocket at the expense of patient rights. The fact remains that physicians continue to pay high premiums in Georgia while insurance profits have soared and patients have suffered.
This article shows once again that it is unfair to innocent victims of human mistakes to cap their damage awards simply so insurance companies can increase their profits and dividends to shareholders. The purpose of insurance is to protect against catastrophic claims. This lady’s unfortunate case is just one example of many where insurance should be available to compensate the innocent victim. Again, here in Georgia, if this lady suffered this result in our state, she would not receive justice. Despite the life altering event, she could only receive $350,000.00 for a lifetime of suffering. Why? Because of so-called frivolous litigation and the alleged need for “tort reform.” As we have said before, we do not need tort reform, we need insurance reform. This case proves the point.