Working on the human body is not like working on a car. This woman suffered an intestinal perforation following her colonoscopy. That is a know complication that occurs in 1 out of 1000 colonoscopies, even in the best doctor's hands. That complication was on the consent form she signed. She suffered from nausea and vomiting after the procedure, which occurs about 10% of the time after a colonoscopy.
Certainly an unfortunate outcome and I feel horrible for the patient, but this was a known possibility when she signed up for the test. Does this mean that doctors should just be prepared for a $12M lawsuit with 1 out of every 1000 colonoscopies they do (most GI docs do about 1000 per year)? Should every patient that has nausea after this procedure (again, 10% of all patients undergoing this procedure) now be told to go to the ER for testing? This verdict will lead to more defensive medicine, which costs $150 BILLION per year (according to the most respected study).
A complication does not equal malpractice. For instance, professional basketball players are going to miss a percentage of free throws. Missing a free throw doesn't equal "basketball malpractice". If you shoot enough free throws you're going to miss a few, even if you're Michael Jordan. If you do enough surgeries you are going to get complications, even if you're Marcus Wellby. Part of the job. Does that mean you and your family should be bankrupted (no doctor carries a $12 million malpractice policy- insurers won't write a policy that big for individual doctors) simply for doing your job?
American society demands perfection from medicine. It's never going to happen. If it's not perfect, though, they demand a multi-million dollar judgement. Every headache should not get an MRI. Every fever should not get a huge labwork. Society has to accept a certain number of bad outcomes. Otherwise, doctors will be forced to run up huge healthcare bills by practicing defensive medicine. If this doctor doesn't have to sell his practice to cover the judgement, I guarantee that he and every GI doctor in Chattanooga if not TN is going to tell ALL of their patients to go directly to the ER EVERY time they say they have nausea. Why not? Doesn't cost the doctor a thing to send the patient to the ER, but could cost $12M if it turns out they were the 1 in 1000 that had a perforation. Would you be willing to take a 1 in 1000 chance of getting sued for $12M? How much is that going to cost our healthcare system? How are you going to like it now if every time you call your doctor he or she tells you just to go to the ER, no prescription called in, no advice, just go to the ER so they can cover themselves?
People, medicine is medicine. If you don't ever want to have a complication, don't ever take any medicines or ever have any surgery or procedure done. Americans demand perfect, yet free, medicine. We can't have it all.
Hamilton County: Jury awards $12 million in malpractice case
Working on the human body is not like working on a car. This woman suffered an intestinal perforation following her colonoscopy. That is a know complication that occurs in 1 out of 1000 colonoscopies, even in the best doctor's hands. That complication was on the consent form she signed. She suffered from nausea and vomiting after the procedure, which occurs about 10% of the time after a colonoscopy.
Certainly an unfortunate outcome and I feel horrible for the patient, but this was a known possibility when she signed up for the test. Does this mean that doctors should just be prepared for a $12M lawsuit with 1 out of every 1000 colonoscopies they do (most GI docs do about 1000 per year)? Should every patient that has nausea after this procedure (again, 10% of all patients undergoing this procedure) now be told to go to the ER for testing? This verdict will lead to more defensive medicine, which costs $150 BILLION per year (according to the most respected study).
A complication does not equal malpractice. For instance, professional basketball players are going to miss a percentage of free throws. Missing a free throw doesn't equal "basketball malpractice". If you shoot enough free throws you're going to miss a few, even if you're Michael Jordan. If you do enough surgeries you are going to get complications, even if you're Marcus Wellby. Part of the job. Does that mean you and your family should be bankrupted (no doctor carries a $12 million malpractice policy- insurers won't write a policy that big for individual doctors) simply for doing your job?
American society demands perfection from medicine. It's never going to happen. If it's not perfect, though, they demand a multi-million dollar judgement. Every headache should not get an MRI. Every fever should not get a huge labwork. Society has to accept a certain number of bad outcomes. Otherwise, doctors will be forced to run up huge healthcare bills by practicing defensive medicine. If this doctor doesn't have to sell his practice to cover the judgement, I guarantee that he and every GI doctor in Chattanooga if not TN is going to tell ALL of their patients to go directly to the ER EVERY time they say they have nausea. Why not? Doesn't cost the doctor a thing to send the patient to the ER, but could cost $12M if it turns out they were the 1 in 1000 that had a perforation. Would you be willing to take a 1 in 1000 chance of getting sued for $12M? How much is that going to cost our healthcare system? How are you going to like it now if every time you call your doctor he or she tells you just to go to the ER, no prescription called in, no advice, just go to the ER so they can cover themselves?
People, medicine is medicine. If you don't ever want to have a complication, don't ever take any medicines or ever have any surgery or procedure done. Americans demand perfect, yet free, medicine. We can't have it all.