On July 16, 2004, the
American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology issued a press release
about the high number of obstetricians who are quitting delivering
babies because they are being sued so much. Highlights of the
press release included:
- In
2003, one in two Fellows had been involved in a claim in the last four
years.
- Over
76% of ACOG Fellows reported they had been sued at least once; 57% had
two or more claims filed against them, and 41.5% had three or more
claims.
- Ob-gyns
have an average of 2.6 claims filed against them during their career.
- About
three in ten (29.6%) of ob-gyns have been sued for care provided during
their residency.
Also,
- Almost
half (49.5%) of claims against ob-gyns are dropped by plaintiffs'
attorneys, dismissed or settled without payment.
- Of
cases that do proceed to court, ob-gyns win eight out of ten times
(81.3%).
- From
1999-2002, on average the length of time from occurrence to closing of
the claim was four years; 13% of claims took seven or more years to
resolve.
- Closed
claim resolution experience:
- No
payout - 49.5%
- Dropped
by plaintiff - 33.6%
- Dismissed
by court - 13%
- Settled
without payment - 2.9%
- Settled
with payment - 36.0%
- Arbitration
or other alternative dispute resolution mechanism - 2.7%
- Jury/court
verdict - 8.6% (1)
I know that
some people do file
frivolous lawsuits, but when you have
Settled with
payment - 36.0%
Arbitration
or other
alternative dispute resolution mechanism - 2.7%
Jury/court
verdict - 8.6%
That means
47.3% of suits filed
were legitimate, and I'll bet that
at least some of the ones that were dismissed were legitimate too,
there just wasn't enough evidence to prove it, or as is frequently the
case, those who filed the suit were harassed so severely that they
dropped the suit. I am conservatively estimating that 75% of
all the
suits filed are legitimate.
What does
that tell us about
modern medicalized childbirth
practices? Either the routine pracices are dangerous in and
of
themselves, or the practitioners themselves are
incompetent. It is my
belief that most practitioners are themselves only practicing what they
were taught, and that most are not negligent simply because they are
incompetent. The model of medically managed childbirth is
inherently
dangerous and causes complications, much more than is reported or
prosecuted.
Ladies, go
back to trusting
your bodies and realizing that your bodies
know how to give birth, without the care of any "professional".
The only way you will be safe is to avoid the modern medical
establishment and learn to care for yourselves.
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References:
1.
http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr07-16-04.cfm