Did you know that for every nine acts of negligence committed by health care providers that result in a serious injury or death, only one percent becomes the subject of a medical malpractice claim? The insurance companies say that it is medical malpractice lawsuits that raise insurance premiums for doctors - an expense ultimately passed on to the consumer. But statistics reveal that the cost of medical malpractice insurance amounts for only 1% of the total cost of health care in the U.S. Insurance companies and the powerful medical lobbies they support do not have at heart the interest of a medical malpractice victim who has suffered a permanent injury that will necessitate long term care, rendered the person unable to work, reduced the victim's earning capacity, quality of life and/or decreased the person's life expectancy. Their thoughts are not with the surviving spouse and children of the medical malpractice victim, who are left to deal not only with the emotional pain of death, but with the loss of their beloved's income and services. And what of accountability? If the negligence of health care providers is not brought to their attention, will they really learn from the experience, or will some patient down the road become the next victim? |
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