“Medical Malpractice lawsuits cost us all in healthcare premiums.” This is the faulty rhetoric put forth by certain entities opposed to civil lawsuits. Health Affairs, a public policy journal, has recently published a study that may prove otherwise.
Harvard researchers published the study the primary finding of which was that the medical liability system (liability for negligent actions imposed on medical professionals) accounts for a measly 2.4 percent of American Health Care expenditures. In fact, the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits alone is well below one percent of the $55.6 billion spent on health care in the U.S. in 2008.