Reply to 100K for Child Wrongful Medical Death in the UK

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Is that fair?

I know we debate all the time about tort reform here.

Wrongful death by NHS providers and services = 100K for a 1 year old that died of sepsis.

If it were my 1 year old? I spent 60K alone on IVF to get him here. We've spent 30K on daycare. Not to mention the cost to "carry" him is around 150-200K if I were a surrogate.

It's at least 100K just to get a baby earthside. As a settlement it seems like a slap in the face. Am I wrong?

I think 300-500K seems more "reasonable"[/quote]

Is there a particular story?

What makes sense will vary. You're probably starting with a skewed view because of US settlements will include large amounts that go to the health insurance company, the lawyers, and expert witnesses. When we looked into bringing a malpractice case, the first $200,000 of any settlement was going to have to go to our insurance company.

Then there's past and future actual damages. If malpractice causes a need for ongoing care, then the settlement or lawsuit amount will need to cover that, too. So cases involving death, particularly in kids and the elderly, won't necessarily be that much.

Time off from work should be compensated to a reasonable degree of what was necessary. And something for pain and suffering, although I'd probably come to a lower number on that than you.

But you seem to be wanting punitive damages. I'm skeptical of those. If it was a legitimate mistake/error, then there shouldn't be punitive damages. If there was willful negligence, then you quickly get into areas where the criminal justice system should get involved. Is there room in the middle for monetary punitive damages? I suppose, but I think the threat of them generally does more harm than good.

I don't think malpractice suits are a good solution to holding bad doctors accountable. We need to revamp state medical boards and find a way to staff them without relying on practicing physicians. We need to revamp state medical boards. They should have more independent professional staff without relying on practicing physicians. They should allow doctors to anonymously testify against colleagues to avoid the strong pressures to cover up each other's mistakes. We They should strengthen the actions taken against offending doctors. And they should punish the doctors and institutions that don't report malpractice.

I think that would do a lot more than punitive damages.[/quote]

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