share.triangle.com - Has your doctor paid malpractice damages? Want to know? - Comments

malpractice

tiberiu — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:24:37 -0500

I wouldn't like to see a malpractice case in an addiction treatment center. You can get sued for both physical and mental damage. The sums can be very high and the judge won't be very soft.

its not reallly an issue

gido1018 — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:07:17 -0500

its not reallly an issue whether the doctor would or would not pay for the damages done, its actually the degree of damage if it is reversible or tratable with the amount of money paid by the doctor.

ogden doctors

Malpractice

Trad — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:29:33 -0400

The "Good Ole Boy" network survives another obsticle. Truth is hard to come by, as a Consumer. Patients have to TRUST people who are not Worthy of our Trust. And, the MedBoard has a history of protecting some docs, while castrating others. So, you can't trust them to always be fair and objective either. Maybe their "intent" is honest usually, but they rely on input from staff who are not always dedicated to Truth if an agenda calls for ethical flexibility.

I say post FACTS and allow patients to make up their own minds. Otherwise, it is not a fair and full "disclosure" of what a patient may be subjecting themselves to. Patients DESERVE to know if their Doctor Dearest has been sued a few times and actually found NEGLIGENT of wrongdoing or malpractice acts. RIGHT? Who would not agree with this Patient RIGHT-TO-KNOW?

What good does it do?

John — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:22:27 -0400

One does not need information about any malpractice suits in order to obtain a Doctor that you have confidence in.

There are a host of people who will sue at the drop of a hat! (Consider the person who accidentally burned herself when she spilled a container of hot coffee in her lap at a eating establishment.)

I`m sure that there are Doctors who in their best judgement have made errors. But I have never heard of ANYONE in recent times who was able to walk on water.

Thank you, Docotr.....

Visitor — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:37:23 -0400

Thank you, Docotr.....

Not the best way to judge a doctor

Visitor — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:06:21 -0400

I do not think that this type of information is really all the helpful to patients. These days a patient can and will sue their doctor for just about anything. Thanks to people like John Edwards mal-practice cases are not necessarily the best indicators of a doctor gone bad but a lawyer or patient looking to cash in. Are there bad doctors? Yes, there are. But it is not fair to throw out information on mal-practice settlements since 9 out of 10 people won't take the time to understand what exactly led up to the mal-practice settlement.

So in conclusion, I feel as though this information might be helpful in some cases but people need to take the information with a grain of salt.

PlEEZE..You would spend more

Visitor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:23:06 -0400

PlEEZE..You would spend more time reseaching a car you wanted to buy...Does you and your body not deserve the very best care you can find ????? If you yourself are investigated by banks, credit co's, etc..why doe a doctor not have to show his/her ability to care for you and yours in a responsible, trustworthy way ?? The days of treating Dr's like God are over !!

Show the Reports

Visitor — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:16:30 -0400

Absolutely show the reports. If they were sued the court record should be a public record anyway...then the only issue is whether to disclose cases that were settled to keep from going to court.

Too Little Too Late

Dr. Mary Johnson — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:14:43 -0400

"Completely useless information?"

I don't think so: http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/2008/06/dogs-and-ponies-one-does-not-even-get.html

The Medical Board does not have the time/resources to do what it needs to do to reign bad doctors in. Now the NCMS would have the Board "vet" malpractice judgements & settlements that have already been adjudicated?

Maybe if we got some of this stuff out in the open, it would provide more incentive for doctors/insurance companies NOT to settle bogus claims.

Maybe if the public actually believed we really cared about policing our own - instead of our pocketbooks - we could get some meaningful tort reform.

WIN-WIN for both doctor and patient

Visitor — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:27:03 -0400

I strongly agree that the NC Medical Board should begin to disclose doctors' malpractice payment histories. It's a WIN-WIN for both the patient and doctor.
1) For the patient, it provides additional information to make informed health decisions.
2) For the doctor & public, it will demystify malpractice insurance. That is, the feedback mechanism (if done right) will neutralize/override the frivolous lawsuit occurances. It will be very apparent to the public that the malpractice market is mostly HYPE. This will drive rates to commodity levels.
3) For the malpractice lawyers, it will identify those individuals that are over-abusing the system. A dollar sign symbol (or something negative) will be noted by the lawyers name every time it appears in the database.

To make all of this work, you need to publish both the insurer and the malpractice lawyer's name and provide it in a format so that the public can trend the data.

Malpractice

Visitor — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:30:43 -0400

I strongly agree with your thought provoking comment. I believe a physician should be held accountable and uphold his ethical values. I want to know the track record of a physician that may be doing heart surgery on my husband. I have two children in middle school and I have no other family for any type of mental, emotional, or financial support. Physician's can win most cases because they have more money to fight in the court system. Thanks.

Still waiting

Visitor — Fri, 30 May 2008 09:32:17 -0400

I see Loria's Mom feels this information is "critical", "a matter of life or death" and gets the "truth" out there. I would love for someone to please explain the factual basis for these assertions. If you see a claim has been paid what does that tell you? There is absolutely no context for WHY that claim was paid. Thanks

Thank you to the Board

Loria's Mom — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:56:29 -0400

Thank you to the NC Medical Board for considering the disclosure of doctors' malpractice payment histories. This type of information is critical to keep the public informed and I strongly agree with their proposal.

As a part of the information disclosed, the facility where the doctor was employed at the time of the incident(s) should also be made public.

This information can be critical -- a matter of life or death when making decisions about your own health care or the care of a loved one. When presented as proposed, no one is libeled and the truth will be out there for those that seek it.

Other than vague approbations

Visitor — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:00:30 -0400

Does anyone have any actual reasons why the posting of this information could be helpful in any way at all? Why would anyone "change their tune" because of the death of a child? How is that relevant in any way at all? A doctor might pay a claim because (1) he just wants it to go away, (2) he will likely lose in front of a jury irrespective of the medicine due to sympathy, (3) he will lose money from being out of work at a trial for several weeks, (4) he is pressured to settle by his partners, (5) he has a family or other emergent situation arise, (6) the jury pool is bad where his case is pending, (7) he doesn't want the adverse publicity from a jury trial, etc....

Should have been done a long time ago

Visitor — Thu, 29 May 2008 16:04:26 -0400

This will be an excellent resource for people to consult when making decisions about their health and the health of their family members. I would love to know what the "myriad other reasons" would be for a doctor to pay a claim other than as an admission of some type of wrongdoing.

When your child dies as a result of a bad doctor - you'll change your tune.

Has your doctor paid malpractice damages? Want to know?

mwilliam — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:32:51 -0400

Do you want to know if your doctor has paid malpractice damages?