Commentary: Replace medical tort system

A new tort reform effort has gained considerable attention in the days leading up to the 2014 Georgia General Assembly session.

Senate Bill 141 would set up a system something like workers’ comp, with injured patients getting access to an independent medical review panel that would rule on the merits of their claims.

In a new GHN Commentary, Dr. Henry N. Goodwin Jr., an Augusta urologist, pushes for this revamp. It’s not a wholly untested idea, he says.

“Since the [proposal] eliminates the need for medical malpractice lawsuits, more of the awards would go to injured patients rather than the lawyers who file and defend medical malpractice claims,’’ Goodwin writes.

Here is a link to his Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please email Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com