Whopping Cough Argumentative Essay
In 1975, a cap was placed on non-economic damages awards in medical negligence lawsuits in California. The law imposing the cap was called Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act or MICRA for short. People who are injured during medical malpractice can receive no more than $250,000 when they are injured by a negligent doctor.
A child was taken by her mother to a clinic because she was coughing and wheezing. The clinic failed to identify the cause of her symptoms and the child died of Whopping Cough. Despite there being an epidemic of Whopping Cough in California at the time, doctors failed to run a blood test that could have saved the six week old child. Because of MICRA’s cap, the child’s parents could only receive $250,000 for their loss. Doctors and insurance companies believe that MICRA’s cap should not be changed because it would make healthcare more expensive. They argue that for thirty-eight years MICRA has increased the availability of healthcare while providing enough compensation to injured patients. They believe increasing the cap on economic damages will impact physician medical liability rates, lead to higher costs of healthcare, and reduce access for patients. Overall, MICRA benefits the patients because healthcare costs are kept lower.
On …show more content…
“Doctors drug testing should be an important factor in order for medical negligence cases to be decreased.” (http://www.38istoolate.com/thruth-about-medical-malpractice.) This is a patient safety initiative and doctor drug testing is a key part. If this measure was passed, it would mandate random drug and alcohol testing for physicians who practice in hospitals and surgery centers and compel physicians to use a database that tracks prescriptions. If the law is changed to allow for this testing, patients would be safer and doctors would do a better job of preventing
A child was taken by her mother to a clinic because she was coughing and wheezing. The clinic failed to identify the cause of her symptoms and the child died of Whopping Cough. Despite there being an epidemic of Whopping Cough in California at the time, doctors failed to run a blood test that could have saved the six week old child. Because of MICRA’s cap, the child’s parents could only receive $250,000 for their loss. Doctors and insurance companies believe that MICRA’s cap should not be changed because it would make healthcare more expensive. They argue that for thirty-eight years MICRA has increased the availability of healthcare while providing enough compensation to injured patients. They believe increasing the cap on economic damages will impact physician medical liability rates, lead to higher costs of healthcare, and reduce access for patients. Overall, MICRA benefits the patients because healthcare costs are kept lower.
On …show more content…
“Doctors drug testing should be an important factor in order for medical negligence cases to be decreased.” (http://www.38istoolate.com/thruth-about-medical-malpractice.) This is a patient safety initiative and doctor drug testing is a key part. If this measure was passed, it would mandate random drug and alcohol testing for physicians who practice in hospitals and surgery centers and compel physicians to use a database that tracks prescriptions. If the law is changed to allow for this testing, patients would be safer and doctors would do a better job of preventing