Posted On: March 20, 2008, 2:32 pm CDT

Posted By: Ron

Having handled numerous alleged med-mal claims spanning 25 years I'm here to tell you that most of them are without merit. Please read the following definition of malpractice:

"Law. failure of a professional person, as a physician or lawyer, to render proper services through reprehensible ignorance or negligence or through criminal intent, esp. when injury or loss follows.
2. any improper, negligent practice; misconduct or misuse."

This is a rigid standard that is obviously not adhered to by juries.
Nowhere in that definition is the requirement a medical professional be clairvoyant or otherwise anticipate every conceivable bodily condition or malfunction that might impact the outcome of a surgery or procedure. I challenge anyone to name a profession that achieves 100% perfection. Lord knows it isn't plaintiff attorneys. The best we can expect of a medical professional is that he/she does the best he/she can relying on their expert judgment and education.

An un-satisfactory outcome doesn't automatically translate to malpractice.
Our legal system has punished doctors to the point many of the good ones are being forced to leave their practice because of malpractice premiums. The attorneys pay nothing into the system.....they add no value to it.........they only take from it. Why shouldn't they participate in the cost of funding their livelihood by helping fund malpractice premiums?