Medical Malpractice Crisis

He focuses on how an increase in insurance is causing doctors all over the United States to stop their practice. He sites an example of a girl from Pittsburgh; when she was eight a doctor performed surgery on her face that other doctors later said should never have been done. The girl testified to Congress in February: " I ended up with horrible scars all over my face, to try to correct it, my biggest wish is that someday I will find a boy who will look and see me for what is on the inside and not my appearance" (Adrianson). He encourages the audience to focus more on the big picture and not sue for greed. Adrianson says the Harvard Medical School has done many studies dealing with if it is worthwhile to sue. The result they found was that only 1 out of 7.6 cases of medical error result in a malpractice claim. He pointed out if the error was unavoidable then there is no point in suing. What I dislike about this article is that he says at one time not to sue and then in the next paragraph he"ll say you should. He is not supporting one thing over another. He is analyzing the problem and giving both sides of the story. Adrianson says, "For patients who suffer a grave injury that affects them for the rest of their lives, a quarter-million dollars would certainly not come close to setting things right." So that clearly indicates you should sue for larger amounts.
             We often read in the newspaper or watch on television how someone has been awarded enormous amount money because of a medical mistake. We focus on the facts and figures very closely. Adrianson says, "The cost of defending lawsuits and paying awards and settlements for alleged malpractice in 2001 were $21 billion, up from $9.4 billion in 1991"(Adiranson). Staggering facts like those are discouraging many well-known doctors from performing risky surgeries. Doctors do not want a burden of paying high insurance prices. In many states like Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Adrianson found out doctors have stated to move to where they will have better deals.