Originally from Journal of American Arbitration (JAA)

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I. INTRODUCTION

The United States has faced health care crises in the 1970s, 1980s, and 2000s.  Two often-cited contributors are the legal system’s treatment of medical malpractice claims and medical errors.  The increase of medical malpractice lawsuits and large jury verdicts in medical malpractice cases, coupled with the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance and the inability of doctors to obtain malpractice insurance, have resulted in the rising costs of health care.   Between 44,000 to 98,000 patients in the United States die each year from medical errors.   The number of patients injured as a result of medical errors is even larger.   One study found that one in every thirty patients admitted to a hospital will be the victim of a serious medical error.   Although “medical error” has several potential definitions, for purposes of this comment a medical error is “an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk of such injury, including any process variation of which recurrence may carry significant chance of a serious adverse outcome.”   Among other things, medical errors have garnered nationwide attention in recent years due to the increasing number of lawsuits filed.