Medical malpractice claims, which are extremely expensive to prosecute, do not clog our courts. Only 7 percent of all tort claims in 1992 involved any type of professional malpractice, including medical negligence, according to the National Center for State Courts. Since 1985, the rate of claims has declined at an average annual rate of 8.9 percent, according to a 1992 American Medical Association publication. A 1995 U.S. Department of Justice study analyzing civil jury cases in the nation's 75 most populous counties found that plaintiffs won approximately 30 percent of the 1,362 medical malpractice cases filed in the 12-month study period. Punitive damages were awarded in 13 of these 403 successful cases.
Malpractice occurs too frequently in America.
Researchers, who extrapolated from the Harvard study, concluded that 80,000 American die each year in part due to medical malpractice. Doctors who are disciplined often are sanctioned for transgressions other than negligence, such as substance abuse and fraud. Health care providers often have a financial incentive to run up costs, according to the Consumer Federation of America. Physicians with financial interests in labs order 34 to 96 percent more tests than those without such interests.