Jury Knows Its Wrong, But the Hospital and Legislature Don’t: Horrible Michigan Medical Malpractice

The jury of normal people in society–a true cross-section of society and of the victim’s peers–know that a medical malpractice cap is wrong—why can’t the “educated” legislators, hospital administrators, doctors, and insurance carriers get this through their head?  Oh yes—follow the money!  The last two blog posts have been about this horrific medical malpractice case out of Michigan.  A patient when in for jaw surgery but the hospital and surgeons mixed up her name and the charts.  She ended up going through unnecessary brain surgery, where they removed part of her skull.  Well she died after this surgery due to the medical malpractice.

Her lawyer, seeking to avoid the medical malpractice cap imposed by Michigan’s legislature, sued the case as ordinary negligence which has no cap on damages.  He did this because the hospital and surgeons admitted to the mistake, and the mistake was an obvious one that was not a medical mistake but a clear reckless, careless, and negligent mistake by the hospital.

A jury agreed and awarded $20 million dollars to the family.

But the hospital and surgeons, losing sense of their morals, appealed on technicality grounds that it should have been a medical malpractice case with the medical malpractice cap.  Not a normal negligence case without a medical malpractice cap.  The appeals court agreed, and vacated the judgment.  Since the time to bring a medical malpractice case expired, the case is over.  The family gets nothing for this massive medical malpractice.

Does This Only Make Sense to Normal People?

The legislature created this medical malpractice cap to protect hospitals and doctors from lawsuits.  Part of the impetus by Michigan and other states is to deter frivolous lawsuits and to turn lawyers from bringing these medical malpractice cases.  It is cloaked further under the guise of “lowering healthcare costs.”

But as we can see from this case, it was 1) not frivolous, 2) these cases need to be brought by lawyers, and 3) healthcare costs would have been lower if the hospital did not make this mistake and perform an unnecessary brain surgery—that means this brain surgery and the real one that had to take place occurred.  Insurers—and the rest of us in the pool of insureds—paid for two brain surgeries when only one was required.

Yet, this is the victim’s fault?  And the lawyer’s fault?

Not according to the jury!  People that are not politicalized in the legislature or who have a bias to get away with liability found $20 million reasons why this family should be compensated.  NORMAL people found this to be entirely wrong.  People like you and me who are out working hard, who rely on medical professionals, who pay for medical insurance, all found that this error was so horrifically wrong that the family required significant compensation.

But not the legislature.  Not the hospital and doctors who ADMITTED they screwed up.

Where is the sense of justice?

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.