Re: Medical malpractice

Eric Weiss of Stanford Medical School sends this comment on his colleague Phyllis Gardner's piece about a medical malpractice suit:

"Another tragedy with roots in the increasing pressure to provide 'cost effective' health care. The jury awarded roughly $14 million to compensate Cook for his lost earning potential and $56 million for future medical needs. The 'pain and suffering' component was suggested by the jury to be $500,000 but was cut in half to $250,000 as that is the new cap in California.

The effect of the malpractice crisis on medicine in the U.S. is well described: Ob/Gyns closing their practices, trauma centers closing their services, and health care access in general getting more difficult and/or more expensive. The cause of the malpractice crisis is much more debatable, with large judgments, including for pain and suffering, certainly contributing. It is also the case that the insurance industry is heavily invested in the stock market and other equities and is now simply struggling to meet the bottom line".

RH:
This is an extraordinarily important story. These large awards please the recipients and their lawyers, but the whole US medical system is in danger. I do not see how the jury could award $56 million for future medical needs. That might be more than $1 million a year, depending on Cook's life span. I assume Stanford will fight this award. Stanford University is self-insured, but I suppose the university's medical practise is insured in the usual way. Is each doctor insured individually? Insurance companies will raise their rates, making the situation worse. Undoubtedly the plaintiff's lawyers will get their just, or rather due rewards. How does not that fit into the judgment?