Re-Victimizing the Victims – Medical Malpractice and Higher Standards of Proof

As some states such as Missouri are considering whether to raise the bar in terms of demanding a higher standard of proof in medical malpractice cases, one issue seems to have been lost-the suffering of those injured in cases of medical malpractice. As Tom Robenalt, a Cleveland lawyer, point out, “Victims should not be penalized for something that happened to them through no fault of their own. “Pain and suffering cannot be quantified by information written down in a file folder. Pain and suffering is a human condition. Asking a court to apply a higher standard of proof to something like pain is virtually impossible,” remarked Robenalt, “and almost guaranteed to be another way to penalize a victim.” It’s evident that the insurance companies are behind this push to re-victimize victims so that they can continue to maximize profits at the expense of injured patients. That’s not justice in any system of which I am aware.