Stories like this one that have a huge ripple effect in driving up the cost of health care. Tort reform does not mean complete indemnification and hold-harmless of doctors. Yes, careless mistakes will always be made - doctors are human. But the remedy for this man should be to something like not charging him for his entire hospital stay. And this should be determined by arbitration, not in a court room, with limits on damages.
Just because the man had the wrong knee operated upon does not entitle him to $1 million settlement. The punishment doesn't fit the crime.
The real problem comes in when a doctor take so many preventive steps, using the latest technology that he is no longer thinking like a doctor, he is thinking like a lawyer. "How can I absolutely prevent a malpractice suit?" Over treatment to prevent a law suit unnecessarily drives up the cost of health care.
In many ways health care is still an art, and every profession requires personal decisions. As a civil engineer, I know ever step of the design process I have choices. For example, I can always use a little (or a lot) of extra steel to make sure the building is strong. But to be fair to the client, I must consider his his cost of construction as well. What if every building (and house) were constructed to withstand an airplane crash like 9-11?
When doctors are looking down the gun barrel of ambulance chasing lawyers and teary eyed juries, they are going to move far past the point of prudent care and into the zone of "save your ass".
Like I said, tort reform doesn't mean doctors can cut off the wrong leg and walk away scot-free.
