We start the year off with an article from Chattahbox.com. I’ve never heard of it. But this website reports on a new survey conducted by Columbia University’s Institute on Medicine that found 49% of doctors have witnessed serious medical mistakes conducted by another health care provider but refused to report it.
Troubling, but nothing earth-shattering. Similar statistics have been floating around. But what is compelling is the second paragraph of the article:
This shocking statistic shows the way our overly litigious society has effected the way that doctors operate, as well as the level of trust patients can put on their doctors, knowing that they are not likely to be truthful about mistakes of those in their office, much less their own.
The author, who is appropriately concerned by the statistic, still feels compelled to blame medical malpractice lawyers for the fact that doctors don’t report each others’ mistakes. This compulsion to blame medical malpractice lawyers for every failing in the medical profession is such a classic form of blame-shifting that apparently is working. This article provides yet another piece of support for this premise.