Utilization of computed tomography (CT) scans has increased markedly in the past decades. It is estimated that more than 75 million scans are performed annually in the United States, compared to only 3 million in 1980.
The quiet of your slow night shift is suddenly broken when three young adults arrive by local ambulance. All three were unrestrained victims in a single-vehicle rollover. Amid the airways, lines, tubes, radiographs, and calls to the regional trauma center, you notice that blood continues to drip from orifices and open wounds.
Have you or one of your colleagues been named in a lawsuit that seems so frivolous that it could be the poster child for tort reform? If so, that doesn't change the fact that you may be in for a life-changing experience.
"There are unscrupulous lawyers, some of whom are very skilled and may hope to settle for just a little bit of money," says Kelen. "But I've been at this for a while, and I am not really aware of suits that were so frivolous that they were brought just to get money."
All action in the medical malpractice arena is happening in the states; the U.S. Congress has no stomach to tackle the issue, as evidenced by its failure to include tort reform in its behemoth 2,700-page health care reform bill.
