Recently medical malpractice premiums have skyrocketed. ¡§The cost of malpractice insurance for specialists has risen more then 10 percent in recent years and could increase by an average of 20 percent or more this year. States without limits on non-economic malpractice damages are experiencing the sharpest increase ¡V 30-50 percent.¡¨ (¡§HHS Calls for National Malpractice Legislation¡¨). This actually may be severely underestimated.

¡§By some estimates, as many as 86 percent of medical malpractice claims filed in the state of Texas are dismissed without payment to a

While some doctors have to cut back on the number of patients they see or the amount of staff they have, still others are being forced to drop high-risk specialties or retire early. Debra Wright, a Las Vegas obstetrician took a leave of absence, trying to avoid an increase in her malpractice insurance of $180,000 from $50,000, claiming that she would be working just to pay off her malpractice costs. Cherly Edwards on the other hand, was forced to stop practicing obstetrics altogether and had to move from Las Vegas to Los Angeles to practice gynecology and cosmetic-surgery. She says that she ¡§was getting up in the middle of the night and losing money with every baby [she] delivered¡¨ (Bradford, Laura). Specialist and family doctors are now more reluctant to see patients in the emergency rooms because of higher frequency in lawsuits generated in this environment, which in turn causes higher premiums. Yet, since some doctors have closed their doors, or are not taking patients with state or federal insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare more and more patients are seeking care in those same emergency rooms.

Medical malpractice insurance ¡§is a problem for America¡¦s [hospitals], and doctors, - and a danger to all Americans,¡¨ says HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. (¡§HHS Calls for National Malpractice Legislation¡¨). Many patients that undergo high-risk procedures believe that if anything were to go wrong in the operating room it would be the doctor¡¦s fault; the actual problem and procedure are not taken into consideration. When something does not go to the patient¡¦s liking, a very easy solution for them is to sue for malpractice. What these patients do not realize is that while they are hurting the doctors, they are also hurting the hospitals and themselves. By increasing the amount of malpractice suits filed, patients are in turn causing a ripple effect, which raises malpractice insurance, thus causing several hospitals to shut down, provoking doctors to narrow the amount of care they can distribute. Patients need to realize that most doctors are doing the best they possibly can in their given situation, and their intent is to give the greatest quality of care with the best possible results.

Patients have gained the impression that doctors are in the medical field solely for the money, when in fact their job is to take care of people who are sick and need help. There is a ripple effect when the doctor gets sued; not only do the doctors¡¦ end up paying for it, but the hospital and their patients suffer for it as well. Malpractice suits have become much like hitting the lottery. These frivolous lawsuits, once filed, are like buying an expensive lottery ticket, which in turn only

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