American health care is in crisis because of exploding medical malpractice litigation. Insurance premiums for
doctors and malpractice lawsuits are skyrocketing, rendering doctors both afraid and unable to afford to practice
medicine. Undeserving victims sue at the drop of a hat, egged on by greedy lawyers, and receive eye-popping awards
that insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors themselves struggle to pay. The plaintiffs and lawyers always
win; doctors, and the nonlitigious, always lose; and affordable health care is the real victim.
This, according to Tom Baker, is the myth of medical malpractice, and as a reality check he offers The Medical
Malpractice Myth, a stunning dismantling of this familiar, but inaccurate, picture of the health care industry.
Are there too many medical malpractice suits? No, according to Baker; there is actually too much medical malpractice,
with only a fraction of the cases ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. Is too much litigation to blame for the
malpractice insurance crisis? No, for that we can look to financial trends and competitive behavior in the insurance
industry. Point by point, Baker�a leading authority on insurance and law�pulls together the research that demolishes
the myths that have taken hold and suggests a series of legal reforms that would help doctors manage malpractice
insurance while also improving patient safety and medical accountability.
The Medical Malpractice Myth is a book aimed squarely at general readers but with radical conclusions that speak
to the highest level of domestic policymaking.