Medical Malpractice: A Time for More Talk and Less Rhetoric

This Article first examines the competing claims of the AMA and ATLA with respect to medical malpractice litigation. 7 The next section of the Article explores some legal reasons for excessive exposure of physicians to malpractice liability. The balance of the Article analyzes some possible solutions. Legislative reform proposals are divided into those that would arbitrarily curtail patients' rights in order to reduce the threat of malpractice verdicts and those that are designed to address the very real problems of medical malpractice litigation. The Article considers alternative means of resolving disputes related to medical services. The Article concludes that the present atmosphere of confusion and recrimination is conducive to neither the enactment of fair and rational tort reform legislation nor the amicable resolution of disputes, and that a new climate of understanding is needed if doctors, lawyers, and patients are to find solutions to the medical malpractice problem.