Greedy Trial Lawyer
Groundless Label Is Frivolous
Category: News Defused
In virtually every medical malpractice lawsuit filed in the United States there is at least one medical expert who has provided a report or an affidavit indicating that, after a thorough review of the records, a breach of the medical standard of care (a medical error) has occurred. Because this has been the situation for many years it is not possible that 40% of medical malpractice cases are groundless.
It is quite possible that in at least 40% of medical malpractice lawsuits another expert has expressed an opinion that the standard of care has been met or that a jury has decided adversely to the victim and in favor of the medical provider. Neither of these circumstances justify the use of the term groundless.
Corpreform.com discusses the mistaken use of groundless by a media still in love with frivolous.
97% of Malpractice Suits Have A Factual Basis
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study on medical malpractice cases. Most media outlets are running it with a headline along the lines of "40% of medical malpractice cases are groundless." Depending upon your opinion of the justice system, that statistic is proof that the justice system works, or is horribly broken. But the media got it wrong.Law.com reports:
"The study found 3 percent of claims analyzed were filed by patients who had no injury. Of the claims that involved injuries, two-thirds were caused by medical error. But the remaining injury claims, or 37 percent, lacked evidence of a medical mistake, and most of those -- 72 percent -- were thrown out or otherwise resolved without a payout to the patient. "
The passage above actually shows that only 3% of medical malpractice claims were groundless - cases in which no actual injury occurred. In 97% of malpractice cases, an actual injury occurred. The remaining question is whether malpractice was the cause of those injuries. As it turns out, in 37% of cases, a judge or jury decided the answer was no.
If you believe that because 37% of malpractice cases end in the equivalent of a "not guilty" verdict that the civil justice system is broken, then you should also come to the conclusion that the criminal justice system is broken, too. In California, 32.5% of criminal prosecutions result in a "not guilty" verdict. In San Francisco, a whopping 62% of prosecutions end in acquittal!
Do either of those statistics mean that prosecutors are flooding the California courts with frivolous prosecutions? No. For the same reason, a finding that in 37% of malpractice cases no malpractice occurred (but injuries did) isn't evidence that the courts are flooded with frivolous malpractice cases.
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