A Study of Medical Injury and Medical Malpractice

For nearly two decades, an atmosphere of crisis has enveloped our system of medical-malpractice litigation and liability insurance. Courts have expanded the limits of tort liability, an increasing number of patients have sought to redress their grievances in court, and juries have awarded ever-increasing damages for medical injuries. Legislatures have responded to the problems of a shrinking insurance market and rising insurance costs by restricting liability and, in some cases, limiting damages. The courts have reviewed some of these statutory restrictions and have struck down a number of them as unconstitutional. Mean-while, report after report has come from federal and…