Malpractice Lawsuits Not Frivolous, New York Times Opinion Piece Says

Although President Bush "repris[ed] his complaint about 'junk and frivolous'" medical malpractice suits on a recent trip to Ohio, many malpractice suits are justified, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes. Bush has called for reforms "to make it more difficult for patients to seek compensation and to restrict the amount of damages that could be paid to those who prove they have been harmed," and he used local doctor, Compton Girdharry, to support his argument, Herbert says. However, Bush should not have used Girdharry -- an OB/GYN who said that he had been "driven from a practice of 21 years by the high cost of malpractice insurance" -- as an example because the doctor "has settled lawsuits and agreed to the payment of damages in a number of malpractice cases in which patients suffered horrible injuries," Herbert contends. Herbert notes that a White House spokesperson said that Bush was not aware of the allegations against Girdharry and if he had, the doctor "would not have been at that event" (Herbert, New York Times, 6/18).