Looking for a mid-size domestic car recommendation

I'm sure the lawyers won't mind taking the money of incompetent doctors who need a legal defense. Lawyers are much more fair-minded than incompetent doctors, in my experience. I have lots of doctor friends. Only 1 has been sued and it was for a relatively trivial amount and he admits a difficult patient and paper work screw up did him in. He hasn't made the mistake again. If a patient won't cooperate he shows him the door and he makes sure he writes all his notes down immediately.

By the way, about 5% of the doctors are responsible for almost half the malpractice awards. If the doctors policed themselves and took away those bad doctor's licenses your rates would go down by about half.

where I rambled, you were succinct Kudo's !

It's D in case you were wondering. I was just using it as an example to show that medicine isn't as easy as some people think it is.

I do think that there is a way to find out stuff about your doctor. I can't honestly remember how but I think it has something to do with the licensing board.

I'm fine with people suing medical practitioners if they don't fix whatever harm they've done. It's the extravagent amount of money that people get suing doctors that I have a problem with. I can understand a little extra for pain. I remember reading of a case in Germany where a lady sued her doctor after surgery for leaving an instrument in her. I believe that she got $20k for pain/suffering and the cost of the surgery to get the instrument out. I think that's very reasonable.

I'm going to try to find that article, I don't think it was just the doctors that were being sued that declined to care for someone. I also think it wasn't for lawyers that just had one lawsuit under their belt but the ones that advertise it. I can't say that I really blame them though.

There's a doctor a bit away from here that has quite a few lawsuits lining up against him and because of those he's been under investigation by the licensing board. I also think that patients have the ability to complain to boards about their doctors. If there are enough complaints they investigate and revoke/suspend licenses.

Somewhere here in Wisconsin there was a couple whoms' child died during an illness. So they sued the doctor for misdiagnosing the illness (they won but they hit the $100k limit). I've heard of lawsuits where a doctor was sued after stopping at an accident to help it's victims. One of the questions that med schools ask is "If you drove past an accident without any responders there would you get out and help the victims knowing full well that you could be sued?" I'd be wary of getting out and helping knowing that if I screw up it's my head even if I save a life or lives. There is going to be a point where the lawsuits get so frivolous that people aren't going to consider going into that profession.

And if that doesn't work, make the drug laws sricter! And if the pushers don't want to be arrested, disarm the rest of society! And if money laundering happens, limit how much cash people can hold! And, hey, using drug money to mount a legal defense is *wrong*, so confiscate assets before they're convicted! And if they somehow get off the hook, make 'em sue to get their assets back! Hang on, the legal procedures to recover the assets are publically available? Tell the libraries to shred that!

See how much we can improve society by stamping out drugs?

Luckily for the public it looks like a medical career is not in my future ;-) I understand where you are coming from with regards to extravagant settlement amounts but those tend to be a result of Jury Awards.

Do you honestly think the people that are on springer every day can understand the difference between $100K & $1 million? After all it's only 1 more zero ;-)

I think that Judicial settlements (with the option of appeal) are the most reasonable approach.

Imagine you were the German woman with the medical instrument left in you. Your career was going to be lingerie model & your fiance left you after your 8 months of endless bitching about "the pain" You've now got a 12" scar across your stomach that every subsequent guy will see (and wonder about) the scar. This is assuming you've not got any ongoing pain which limits your sex life.

Does the value of a used mini van sound reasonable? I suppose where you live also plays a part. If you're in the middle of Alaska (or perhaps Alabama) $20K might buy you a nice house, but in New York It might buy you a dinner (plus perhaps a movie).

I'm thinking, keep the present system, lose the Jury awards and Thank GOD that I'm not a Doctor.

I believe that in France and Canada people who stop to help a person in an accident cannot be sued for any non-intentional incompetence.

I like your thinking Joe. Ever thought of a run for President?

Art,

I got news for you - everybody screws up sooner or later. I don't mind a system where injured parties are reasonably compensated for someone else's mistakes. I do mind a system where an honest mistake become some sort of entry in to an enormous lottery.

Ed

Yeah, most of the women I see on 'Cops' are ones I'd want to strip search....NOT!

--Geoff

Recently in NC there was a car stopped at a stop sign and a 50 year old tree fell without warning and killed the people inside. You don't cut down all trees because that happened once. There are all kinds of anecdotal stories out there about lawsuts. Most have been reversed on appeal and you don't hear that part of the story from people who want riduculous limits on lawsuits. When doctors do their job correctly they don't get sued.

incompetent

investigate

So you are saying that a jury of your peers is inherently unfair to doctors? You think somehow when someone gets jury duty they turn off their brain? I don't think so. Please provide a scientific explanation for your conclusion.

You seem to want science only when it's unattainable and can't hurt your position, Art.

It's well known and understood that most of the legal cases that settle out of court do so because both sides recognize that letting the morons who find themselves on the typical jury decide the case is usually not for the better of anyone.

Besides that, I think a doctor would have a tough time getting a jury of his peers. How many medical professionals serve jury duty? And what are the chances that a group of them would find themselves on the same jury for a medical malpractice lawsuit?

--Geoff

If that is what you think, then perhaps you should think about that some more. Any attorney will tell you the reason they can easily manipulate a jury is because the people sitting in the jury box are the ones that were not smart enough to get themselves out of jury duty. ;)

mike hunt

Art wrote:

Yes, we had one of those (fintail) in the sities...

That's hardly justification for a generalisation!

DAS

Well, maybe / maybe not. About 10 years ago my Mother was driving Her company car down a main street in the town nearest where she worked. A large limb fell from an old oak tree and smashed her car. Fortunately she suffered only superficial injuries. Comprehensive insurance replaced the car (the companies insurance, not the town's insurance). My Mother didn't get any money from anyone (or ask for it). However, the town promptly cut down the offedning tree and all the other large old trees on that street that were on the towns right of way.

Regards,

Ed White

I think juries are manipulated into making unreasonable awards. Do I need a scientific explanation for what seems so apparent in many cases?

Juries are led to believe only the rich are paying. You know, the evil insurance companies, or the evil large corporations. You aren't really hurting the little guy when you award millions to an injured party - right? Anybody that believes that is an idiot and the perfect candidate for a civil jury.

I have never been on a jury. I've been on the list twice but never actually had to go downtown so to speak. A fellow engineer has had to join the pool a couple of times, but both times he was immediately excused the minute he admitted he was an engineer. I am sure that no trial lawyer would ever want me on a jury. I am old, white, and have a degree in engineering. I would be impervious to most of the BS they throw out.

As I said before. I have no problems with actual and reasonable damages being awarded. I do have a problem with punitive damages. If there is willful negligence involved, put the perpetrator in jail, don't shower money on the injured person and some scum trial lawyer. If you think economic sanctions are the only ones that work, then have the government fine the perpetrators and use the money to benefit society.

Ed

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Normally I don't do "me too" posts, but me too!

Haha, you raise a few points there that I never thought about. I do think that you're right though.