4 Medical Malpractice Myths
January 11th, 2011 | 
Author: 
“Doctors are afraid to treat patients”
“Doctors hate lawyers”
“Doctors hate their medical malpractice insurance companies”
“Doctors practice defensive medicine”
“The tooth fairy is real, as is Santa Claus and the Easter bunny.”
Let’s address these myths one at a time.
MYTH: “Doctors are afraid to treat patients”
FACT: Doctors went into medicine because they wanted to help patients. They continue to practice medicine. I don’t know any physician who has stopped practicing because of (choose one or more) malpractice lawsuits; high insurance premiums or low reimbursements from insurance companies.
MYTH: Doctors hate lawyers
FACT: I’m sure there’s some fact to that statement. However, the majority of physicians know attorneys who are good at what they do. They rely on them to set up their businesses; to represent them with real estate matters; to help them with contracts; to advise them on asset protection; to create estate plans among other necessary legal needs. Not every lawyer is scorned by doctors.
MYTH: Doctors hate their medical malpractice insurance companies
FACT: Doctors have no choice. They are obligated to carry liability insurance in the event they are sued by an injured victim. Carrying this type of insurance allows a doctor to have coverage, or protection from such a lawsuit. The insurance company provides a doctor with an experienced defense attorney that the insurance company pays, usually on a retainer. The doctor, in exchange for paying his yearly insurance premium, receives legal services without ever having to pay any money directly out of his own pocket.
Also, in the event that a verdict or settlement occurs, any money that the injured patient receives comes from the doctor’s insurance proceeds, and more often than not, the doctor does not pay anything directly out of his own pocket. There are limited instances where the injuries far exceed the insurance coverage and in those cases, injured victims can look to the doctor’s personal assets to recover compensation. However, those instances are rare.
MYTH: Doctors practice defensive medicine
FACT: There are definitely doctors who practice ‘defensive medicine’. They order tests to protect themselves in the event they are accused by a patient of not running all the necessary tests to rule in or rule out a particular condition or diagnosis. Health care critics argue that these tests are ‘unnecessary’ and drive up health care costs.
Here’s the basic premise of a physician treating a patient:
Patient has a medical problem. Patient goes to a doctor to find out what the problem is.
Doctor examines the patient. Doctor doesn’t know what the problem is. Doctor thinks he knows, but in order to make sure, has to run bunch of tests. First few tests don’t show anything.
Does that mean the patient’s medical problem doesn’t exist? Maybe. Then again, maybe the doctor didn’t run the ‘right’ kind of tests.
What exactly are the ‘right’ kind of tests? Maybe specialized tests like an X-ray or CAT scan or MRI scan will help.
“But wait,” the critics yell. “The low chance of you really having a bad condition shouldn’t require you to get the gold standard of all tests. The Cadillac of tests may be good, but your insurance company shouldn’t have to pay for it,” critics urge.
Really? I thought it was the treating doctor who was trying to figure out what was wrong with you. Why are these critics and insurance company admin types trying to tell your doctor what he can and can’t do to figure out what’s wrong with you?
The goal of going to the doctor was to figure out what was wrong. Once he figures out what’s wrong, the next step is treating you to fix your problem.
How can he fix your problem if he tells you he can’t get approval for an MRI because your insurance company won’t pay for it. “They don’t think it’s medically necessary,” you are told.
Really? Are they the ones who are treating you? Are they the ones who will suffer untold consequences if your terrible medical condition could have been detected early and treated, but because of their attempt to contain costs and limit “unnecessary medical tests” your disease has spread and worsened. They don’t really care about that, and that’s the sad, unfortunate truth.
Posted in Legal Malpractice Insurance | 
Tags: Asset Protection, Insurance Coverage, Insurance Premium, Myths, Personal Assets, Retainer, Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy