As stated in an earlier post, a plaintiff who files a malpractice lawsuit for a catastrophic medical error such as amputation of the wrong limb<\/a> could recover up to $1 million per occurrence. Proponents of medical caps will tell you these payouts are to blame for the rising cost of health care. A recent study reveals this assertion isn’t true.<\/p>\n In fact, says Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of surgery and health policy at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the leader of the study, “The real problem is that far too many tests and procedures are being performed in the name of defensive medicine, as physicians fear they could be sued if they don\u2019t order them. … It is not the payouts that are bankrupting the system \u2014 it\u2019s the fear of them.”<\/p>\n Makary and fellow researchers’ review of the National Practitioner Data Bank \u2014 a database of all (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As stated in an earlier post, a plaintiff who files a malpractice lawsuit for a catastrophic medical error such as amputation of the wrong limb could recover up to $1 million per occurrence. Proponents of medical caps will tell you…<\/span><\/p>\n