First Page
1457
Abstract
Medical malpractice litigation is not a modern invention. Rather, it has been part of the American legal system since before the Revolution,1 and the most recent medical malpractice insurance crisis is not the first this country has known. However, losses to insurers during the earlier medical malpractice insurance crises pale in comparison to the ailments of this most recent crisis.2 Though this most recent medical malpractice insurance crisis seems to be coming to a close,3 by examining the causes of this crisis and enacting changes at present, this country may be able to avoid future crises. Of course, the first step in avoiding repetition is identifying the cause-a task that to date has eluded consensus.
There are three groups of professions involved in the debate over the causes of the medical malpractice insurance crises- physicians, insurers, and plaintiffs' attorneys. Though blame, to some degree, rests with all three of the principal actors, this Note does not focus on the source of the crisis. Instead, it primarily focuses on changes directly pertinent to the legal profession which may be able to prevent future crises.
Recommended Citation
Kyle Miller,
Putting the Caps on Caps: Reconciling the Goal of Medical Malpractice Reform with the Twin Objectives of Tort Law,
59 Vanderbilt Law Review
1457
(2006)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/vlr/vol59/iss4/13