RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 To find fault is easy, to find no-fault is fair
JF Future Healthcare Journal
JO Future Healthc J
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 85
OP 89
DO 10.7861/fhj.2022-0049
VO 10
IS 1
A1 Richard J Epstein
YR 2023
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/10/1/85.abstract
AB The inequity of medical negligence-based adversarial litigation in the USA, UK and Australia is a recognised target for reform. Plaintiff autonomy is weakened by a dispute resolution system that has evolved around lawyers, opposed experts and indemnity insurers; the need to prove breach and causation excludes compensation for other categories of medical injury; and patient access to the system is restricted by high entry costs. Two strategies towards reform are raised here. A short-term approach involves routine initial use of a single court-appointed medical expert for assessment of errors and liabilities, thus improving access while relegating fault-finding to a reserve role. In the longer term, adversarial litigation could be replaced in part by a no-fault compensation scheme – such as in Scandinavia, France and New Zealand – funded by taxation and by re-directed medical indemnity fees. Reforms such as these would be challenging to implement, but are achievable, so it is not premature for relevant bodies to consider a timetable for action.