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Researchers say the idea that malpractice lawsuits drive high insurance premiums, which drive doctors out of business, may not have a factual basis. Writing in the Cornell Law Review and Regulation, David A. Hyman, a University of Illinois professor, and Charles Silver, of the University of Texas, said doctors should still be held liable for the quality of the work they do. "Health care is substantially more dangerous than it should be," Hyman said. "Liability encourages producers of goods and services to exercise due care by forcing them to internalize the costs of their negligence." The authors say they do not contend the civil justice system creates optimal incentives for providers to protect patients from avoidable errors. It does not, they say, and in all likelihood it never will. "Our point is that unless and until changes in compensation arrangements create a business case for quality, providers will continue to provide low-quality care to many patients, and the health-care sector will under-perform the rest of the economy," the authors said.
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