Malpractice claims: Review before trial

As president of Iowa's statewide medical society and a practicing physician, I'm writing to explain the Iowa Medical Society's position on medical liability.

Patients who are hurt because of medical negligence deserve to be made whole and recoup lost wages, have their medical bills paid and be reimbursed for future earnings. What we don't support is the awarding of unlimited non-economic (pain and suffering) damages. This is an area where jury awards are inconsistent and in some cases, simply unreasonable.

Medical liability reform needs to benefit patients, and that's why we support a certificate of merit law that would require a medical expert to review the facts of a case before a lawsuit is filed. Patients who are injured deserve a process that gives them a reasonable expectation about the outcome of their case before it moves on to a potentially lengthy and costly trial.

Unfortunately, malpractice lawsuits without merit are filed in Iowa, and these cases waste money and valuable court time. A common sense certificate of merit law would lead to a quicker resolution and settlement for the patient. That's good public policy for Iowans.

Dr. Michael Kitchell

Ames