The Medical Malpractice Myth

September 26, 2005
In January 2005, President Bush declared the medical malpractice liability system "out of control." The president's speech was merely an echo of what doctors and politicians (mostly Republicans) have been saying for years—that medical malpractice premiums are skyrocketing due to an explosion in malpractice litigation. Along comes Baker, director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut School of Law, to puncture "the medical malpractice myth" with a talent for reasoned argument and incisiveness. He counters that the real problem is "too much medical malpractice, not too much litigation," and that the cost of malpractice is lost lives and the "pain and suffering of tens of thousands of people every year"—most of whom do not sue. Baker argues that the rise in medical premiums has more to do with economic cycles and the competitive nature of the insurance industry than runaway juries. Finally, Baker offers an alternative in the form of evidence-based medical liability reform that seeks to decrease the incidence of malpractice and also protect doctors from rising premium costs. Having worked with insurance companies, law firms and doctors, Baker brings experience and perspective to his book, which is sure to be important and controversial in future debates.

November 1, 2005
Baker (director, Insurance Law Ctr., Univ. of Connecticut Sch. of Law) has written a serious text, the central thesis of which is that there is -an epidemic of medical malpractice, not malpractice lawsuits. - Citing major studies mostly from medical and legal literature, he debunks a litany of perceived myths around malpractice lawsuits and convincingly makes the case that malpractice lawsuits actually improve patient care and that big payments are the rare exception, not the rule. His stated goal is to reframe the discussion about medical malpractice lawsuits, and in each of the eight chapters, he covers both the myth and the reality of medical malpractice. Unlike Harvey Waschman's more readable "Lethal Medicine: The Epidemic of Medical Malpractice in America", few case histories are presented here, and Baker assumes a degree of legal knowledge on the part of readers. A glossary, then, would have been helpful to define such terms as "tort liability". A more comprehensive title is "To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System", edited by Linda T. Kohn and others, available both in print and freely available online. Well researched with more than ten pages of references, Baker's timely book is appropriate for public, medical, and academic libraries. (Index not seen.)" -Martha E. Stone, Treadwell Lib., Boston"

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