We have all heard politicians and doctors say that medical negligence lawsuits are frivolous and need to be curtailed. Tomorrow, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider legislation to severely restrict the compensation available to victims of medical errors.

		David Paul is a lawyer at Berger & Lagnese, a Downtown firm.

What the politicians and doctors who favor this legislation will fail to mention is that medical malpractice, and the human suffering it causes, have reached epidemic proportions in the United States today. The Institute of Medicine, an independent group of medical experts, has estimated that as many as 98,000 people die in American hospitals each year as a direct result of medical errors. That's more than double the number of people who die on America's highways.

As a medical negligence lawyer, I have witnessed firsthand the power of medical malpractice lawsuits to bring about improvements in medical care. Here is a true story of one of the cases my law firm has handled that illustrates this power. It's the story of "Mike Sherman."

Not too long ago, Mike was taken to a local hospital due to a heart condition. He was started on blood thinners and admitted for observation. Over the next few days, his heart condition stabilized and he was set for discharge. On the morning of his discharge, Mike fell backwards into the bathtub.

Nobody witnessed the fall. The nurses came running and found Mike on his back in the tub. He couldn't remember what had happened. Mike was kept in the hospital, but no head CT was done. Two days later, he developed arm and leg weakness. Then he developed a bad headache. Finally, Mike developed confusion and became unable to walk. An emergency head CT showed a massive pool of blood pressing against Mike's brain.

Mike was rushed to the operating room, but it was too late. He died from severe brain injuries caused by his late-diagnosed intracranial bleed.

Mike's family sued the hospital, claiming that a head CT should have been done immediately after Mike's fall. Although the hospital paid compensation to Mike's family to settle the case, the hospital never admitted any wrongdoing.

Nevertheless, once the case had settled, the hospital quietly adopted a new policy: Doctors must now order an immediate head CT for all patients on blood thinners who fall and strike their head or who suffer an unwitnessed fall. This policy would have saved Mike's life.

Because of the real threat of jury verdicts that fully compensate the victims of medical errors, malpractice lawsuits force hospitals and doctors to do a better job with today's patients than they did with yesterday's. Take away the possibility of full compensation for victims of medical malpractice, and you've taken away the incentive that hospitals and doctors need to do a better job the next time.

In the coming weeks when you hear the politicians and the doctors and the doctor-politicians argue that medical malpractice lawsuits are frivolous and do nothing but make the trial lawyers rich, call them up and tell them about "Mike Sherman" and the Pittsburgh area hospital that learned to do a better job thanks to a medical malpractice lawsuit.