Although critics of the tort system for settling medical malpractice claims have long charged that the legal system is nothing more than a lottery system that can hurt good doctors and reward crooked lawyers, the truth is that the tort system works surprisingly well. According to a recent study by the Law School of the University of Missouri-Columbia entitled “What We Know about Malpractice Settlements,” published in the Iowa Law Review, the rate of settlement and the settlement amount for medical malpractice claims were actually tied very closely to the merits of the claim.
According to the study, which compiled data from a dozen previous studies over two decades, weak claims received payment in only 10-20% of the cases, while strong cases received payment in 85-90% of the claims. In addition, the average settlement amount for weak cases was much less. Weak cases received an average settlement less than $14,000 in most studies, whereas the strong cases received settlements in excess of $170,000 dollars. Correlating the two statistics highlights the disparity. A claim without merit against a doctor will cost, on average, $1400, while a claim with merit will cost $144000, a disparity of two orders of magnitude, clearly a significant difference. Based on this study, the tort system for managing medical malpractice is definitely a good one for making sure that injured patients receive payment, while fraudulent claims do not.
If this is so, what is the source of the common perception that the system is deeply flawed? That will be tomorrow’s topic.
This study gives hope to those facing off against the medical system over medical negligence. It shows that, despite the advantages of defendants in these cases, plaintiffs with merit will receive significant payments most of the time. If you or someone you love has been injured by medical negligence, do not despair, but instead contact the Texas injury lawyers at Jim Adler & Associates today.
