Op-ed: Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Improve Patient Safety

In a New York Times op-ed, Joanna C. Schwartz, assistant professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles, described how accountability in the courts improves patient safety. She wrote: 

"My study also shows that malpractice suits are playing an unexpected role in patient safety efforts, as a source of valuable information about medical error. Over 95 percent of the hospitals in my study integrate information from lawsuits into patient safety efforts. And risk managers and patient-safety personnel overwhelmingly report that lawsuit data have proved useful in efforts to identify and address error."

Her research is another reason to oppose "tort reform" efforts that restrict or eliminate access to the courts by injured patients.

Returning Troops Have Higher Risk of Fatal Driving Accidents

For men and women who have fought in the country's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, death behind the wheel is becoming another lethal after-effect of combat. After they leave military service, veterans of the two wars have a 75% higher rate of fatal motor vehicle crashes than do civilians. Troops still in uniform have a higher risk of crashing their cars in the months immediately after returning from deployment than in the months immediately before. People who have had multiple tours in combat zones are at highest risk for traffic crashes. The most common explanation is that troops bring back driving habits that were lifesaving in war zones but are dangerous on America's roads. They include racing through intersections, straddling lanes, swerving on bridges and, for some, not wearing seat belts because they hinder a rapid escape. Read more.