House of Caduceus on the personal cost of a lawsuit won:
An ER doctor who had been happily practicing medicine for many years had his first lawsuit brought against him. From what I was told by his friend, this ER doctor absolutely loved his profession and helping people. Concerning this lawsuit, he did not make any medical error, showed no negligence, and performed his job to the best of his abilities. His insurance company would have easily settled out of court, which to all doctors is like a big slap in the face. His medical record would have been tarnished and he felt like it would be admitting fault, which he was morally against, so he fought the case in court to prove himself right. The court case lasted a couple years, he was humiliated in court b/c that is what a good lawyer will do, spent thousands of his own money, and eventually won the case. You would think that this win would boost his confidence, but instead, he felt betrayed by the patient and the patient's family, abused by the court system, and worried about a another possible future lawsuit. This doctor then quit the practice of medicine and refused to keep his job, despite the begging of his employer.
My congrats to those patients and lawyers out there destroying American medicine. You're doing a fine job of wasting our time and talent.
[Execupundit note: The emotional cost of the adversarial system is seldom examined. I've met attorneys who regard the filing of a lawsuit as part of a game and who completely fail to consider the very real emotional harm that can be done to defendants and witnesses who are trying to do the right thing.]
[HT: Overlawyered ]
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