Indiana Accident News

New Study Says Medical Malpractice Costs US $55 Billion Per Year

A number of Illinois health care groups are touting the findings of a new study regarding medical malpractice costs conducted by Harvard University. The recent study found that medical malpractice costs the United States an estimated $55 billion each year – a number that includes the cost of damages, legal free, lost time working for doctors, and defensive medicine. The Illinois health care industry says that the key to lowering these costs is to cap the amount of compensation a medical malpractice victim can obtain for non-economic damages.

Others, not in the health care industry, might wonder if a better solution to cutting medical malpractice costs is to reduce the number of medical malpractice incidents in our doctor’s offices and hospitals – and to hold doctors and hospitals responsible for medical mistakes that lead to the numerous unnecessary injuries and lost lives each year.

In 2005, Illinois lawmakers passed a bill that would limit medical malpractice victims to collecting $500,000 in non-economic damages from doctors and $1 million in non-economic damages from hospitals. However, it was found that the medical malpractice caps violated a jury’s right to decide on the proper amount of damages a personal injury victim deserves. Now, state lawmakers are once again trying to pass health care reform laws that would limit medical malpractice damages.

According to the study, medical liability costs make up 2.4 percent of the total cost of health care in the United States.

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