Abstract

Can the Patient Recover?

The article focuses on the issue medical malpractice and the patient's rights in the U.S. Medical malpractice is the adjudged failure of a doctor, and if it is proven, the patient has the right to monetary recompense for his suffering. It was not until after World War II that a rapid increase in the rate of malpractice suits threatened the equanimity of the U.S. medical profession and simultaneously drew the attention of the public to the fact that the courts did provide a means for the redress of grievances against a profession which had heretofore been relatively immune to frontal attack by its clientele. Ostensibly, doctors were upset because malpractice-insurance costs were rising, and because fear of suits was forcing physicians to alter their ordinary habits of patient care.