May 08, 2008

Tokyo (JAPAN)

My View: Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in the United States

Someone I know in the United States is taking a doctor to court in a malpractice suit over her husband's death two years ago. The basics of the case involve the medication prescribed, which is being blamed for (in part) contributing to the eventual heart attack the killed the man. Knowing all the details are not particularly relevant, but what I find mind-boggling is the right to take a doctor to court for doing what he believed to be in the patient's best interest.

Given that "Mrs. Smith" approached "Dr. Johnson" for his medical advice, how can she turn around and sue him when his professional advice was not "perfect" (a seemingly arbitrary determination). There is no "right answer" in the medical world, as every patient is different and every circumstance varies.

Now, if a doctor is clearly negligent and ignores a basic chemical understanding - prescribing Mentoes and Coke to be taken together, for instance - then there is clearly something wrong and the doctor should be held accountable. However, when a doctor (especially one at the head of his field in the region) carefully prescribes medication designed to save someone's life, he is utilizing everything his education has taught him. A doctor is not God, and he does not have some magical book to consult - he is a trained professional who has invested his entire life to making sound judgments for his patients. These judgments will not all work out perfectly, naturally, and this is why it is the patient's prerogative to choose different doctors or to seek a second opinion. However, if someone takes a doctor's advise, then how can you go back and blame the doctor? He was paid to give his professional opinion, and assuming he did so without breaching any codes of conduct (ie being under the influence, careless, etc), there can be very little complaint afterward  - and certainly not in a financial sense.

Personally, I see an attempt to sue a doctor as being greedy and despicable - capitalizing on the death of a loved one. If someone feels there was negligence involved, they should seek to have the doctor disbarred. That is what justice is all about - holding people accountable for their actions so that such problems can be averted in the future.

My mother and I discussed all this over the phone earlier this week, and it sparked something else inside me related to lawsuits in the United States: namely, that there are too many frivolous ones.

While I recognize that laws, and the ability to sue someone in civil court, are a tremendous development in the modern world, there needs to be significant restructuring with what is socially acceptable. Granted, I can sue anyone for anything, and that is my right - just as it is anyone else's right to do the same - but that does not mean the system should be exploited. Americans have a great many rights, possibly more than anywhere else in the history of mankind, and what makes the system work so well is that responsible citizens are deserving of such rights.

Everyone knows the story of the woman who sued McDonald's because the "coffee was too hot," and while everyone finds such a lawsuit ridiculous, very few people speak out against lawsuits. For whatever reason, it is seen as taboo to tell a friend that their lawsuit is ridiculous - as if it is imposing on a private part of their life. This is absurd: just as every American should speak up if they see someone abusing their rights in public - such as using profanity in public or burning a flag for fun - they should also put an end to the frivolous lawsuits in America. The laws cannot be changed - they are there to protect citizens - but citizens can change what is socially acceptable by speaking up when they see an injustice.

Lawsuits should not be off-limits from such criticism.