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Tort Reform Case Study

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Tort Reform Case Study
“The case, Reilly v. St. Charles Hospital, centered on the birth of Shannon Reilly in 2002. The jury determined that the Long Island hospital and the obstetric nurse had failed to properly monitor the pregnant mother and her fetus, missed important signs that the baby was in distress, and then failed to take corrective action” (Cohen 2013)
What if this happen to you? Is there a fixed price, which can make up for the mistakes that were made? I think that there shouldn’t be a cap to the monetary damages that are awarded in malpractice cases. To further understand the issue, let’s begin with tort reform.
“Tort reform is legislature usually passed at the state level which affects the malpractice laws of a state. Tort reform usually includes laws that limit, or cap, the amount of money that patients can receive as an award from a clinician they've sued for malpractice. Additionally, tort reform caps the amount of punitive damages a judge can order the physician to pay” (Santiago 2014) Over 38 states have tort reform, I believe tort reform, was put in place to protect physicians. While, this is all in well, for the physicians. Who is protecting the people effected by medical …show more content…
Basically, they run a bunch of tests all at one time, to find a diagnose. Some may say that “shotgun” diagnose, also known as defensive medicine, is helping the patient, when in reality, and once again it’s helping the physician. “Doctors practice defensive medicine simply because it generates extra income” (Cohen 2013). Furthermore, in the long run tort reform is indirectly causing the rise in price of medical costs. So with all the test being ran, physicians are making money, but still are making mistakes? And with tort reform, malpractice suits such as, Reilly vs. St. Charles Hospital, now have a cap on the amount of their “pain and suffering” caused by
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