Societal responsibility for malpractice.

Abstract

The purposes of providing just compensation to victims of medical injury and assuring high quality medical care are not served by the tort system. The tinkering with the tort system following the 1975 malpractice crisis will not ease the constantly increasing cost burden on the health care delivery system. Costs will double every three to four years. The only answer is a social insurance approach. The costs of a compensation system for medical injury regardless of fault could be met by eliminating the friction costs of the tort system, and would be helped by establishing national health insurance. The system could be initiated gradually and would be accompanied by quality assurance measures.