Deacon923
Scooter Banks
This is 100% accurate where I practice, as well. You can count on one hand how many lawyers still do med mal. The insurance companies have undoubtedly won the tort reform battle. Yet, malpractice premiums continue to rise? I thought it was all the frivolous law suits that caused malpractice coverage to rise? Or, maybe it was all b.s. and a way for insurance companies to not pay on legit claims and continue to collect more premiums.
As for the ER doctors, where I live, claimants face an even tougher standard to prove malpractice than they would against a specialist. An ER doctor has to commit something greater than even gross negligence to be found liable.
It's just a coincidence that under our fee for service model, the ordering of huge numbers of tests also results in increased income for the institution doing the testing - which is either the hospital that employs the doctor or in some cases the doctor ordering the test who owns his own lab. I'm sure that has absolutely nothing to do with the explosion of unnecessary testing. It's all the fault of the lawyers.