PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Korcok, M.
TI  - Medicolegal hell in Texas
DP  - 1995 Oct 01
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 963--966
VI  - 153
IP  - 7
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/153/7/963.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/153/7/963.full
SO  - CMAJ1995 Oct 01; 153
AB  - In the inverted question markwar zones inverted question mark of Texas, lawyers use billboards, television commercials and Yellow Page advertisements to announce their availability to help the inverted question markunjustly injured, inverted question mark and medicolegal lawsuits are as common as the rain that sweeps in from the nearby Gulf of Mexico. Almost 75% of the suits are dismissed without award or settlement, since many are plainly frivolous. However, even these can mean torment for physicians, who have to hire lawyers, answer charges, collect paperwork, take time off work for depositions and consultations, and then worry about how insurers will react the next time premiums are due--even if they are cleared. Texas estimates that defensive medicine practised because of legal fears costs the state at least $702 million annually, spending that is bound to continue as long as one lawsuit is filed annually for every 5.3 doctors in the state.