The consumer is not without remedies some states have laws that regulate this type of agreement. And arbitration awards do not establish a legal precedent that can serve to protect patients in similar circumstances. Arbitration awards tend to be smaller than those awarded by juries. The civil tort system has been established to address grievances resulting from the failure to provide service to a certain standard of care. The physician holds that care hostage to the patient’s agreement that if the doctor should act in a negligent fashion, there will be no recourse to the courts of law. A patient comes to a doctor’s office in need of medical care. Second, the waiver exploits the patient’s lack of bargaining power. In some instances, the malpractice insurance carrier requires the doctor to obtain arbitration agreements. Doctors fear malpractice suits that can tarnish the reputation and raise malpractice insurance premiums.
First, the waiver calls into question whether the doctor is committed to the highest possible quality of care. It is unconscionable for a doctor to suggest such an arrangement on at least two levels. The use of these agreements should be resisted. After leaving that physician to find one who did not require the waiver, she learned that all of the doctors in her area were making the same demand.
#OUTSET MEDICAL COLUMBUS OHIO TRIAL#
Essentially, she was asked to give up her legal right to a trial by jury in exchange for health care.
The patient was asked to sign a waiver of her right to sue the physician and accept binding arbitration of any dispute. The New York Times Magazine‘s column “The Ethicist” featured a question from a reader regarding a new practice by her physician. Physicians Demand Patients Waive Trial by Jury in Malpractice Claims What Protections Exist for Patients?
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