2010 Medical Malpractice Costs Lowest Ever on Record

In 2010, the cost of medical malpractice to the US healthcare industry was the lowest ever recorded, after falling for seven straight years. The total cost of malpractice last year amounted to only 0.13 of one percent of total national health care costs. These statistics come from the National Practitioners Database, and were published and analyzed by Public Citizen here. These statistics offer clear confirmation that health care costs are not rising due to medical malpractice lawsuits, although some pundits and legislators continue to insist that this is the case. The HEALTH Act (Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Healthcare Act) (HR 5), a proposed bill currently working its way through Congress, was advanced using  just such reasoning. In Public Citizen’s analysis of this new data, David Arkush correctly states:

“the premise on which this bill is based is bogus…Health care costs have nothing to do with what’s going on in the courtroom. Lawmakers are using it as an excuse to throw a bone to their campaign contributors in the health care industry, who don’t want patients to have legal recourse if they are harmed by malpractice.”

The attorneys at Colling Gilbert Wright fight to help those affected by medical malpractice, and the loved ones of those who have died as a result of medical errors. However, medical malpractice lawsuits do more than seek financial compensation for damages caused by malpractice. These lawsuits also serve to penalize negligent hospitals or other medical facilities, pressuring them to keep sub-standard levels of care from becoming the norm. The costs of American healthcare have risen steadily for the past twenty years, while the costs to the healthcare system of malpractice litigation have steadily fallen. With the statistics showing so clearly that malpractice litigation is NOT responsible for rising medical costs, the ongoing calls for “tort reform” based on that flawed argument are baseless. Legislators have been quick to hand out favors to big-business interests in recent years, while chipping away at the rights of the very citizens who voted them into office. Our firm is dedicated to protecting Florida’s citizens from eroding standards of care, by helping them seek compensation when they are injured by medical malpractice. If you or a love one has been the victim of medical malpractice, call Colling Gilbert Wright for a free consultation. We believe that the right of an individual to seek justice for damages caused by malpractice should never be diminished by the backroom dealings of corporate lobbyists and elected officials.