ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the structure of medical malpractice system and learn what is known about the ways in which malpractice law affects providers and patients. The first issue of legal importance arises from the US Constitution, which does not withhold for the federal government that part of the law relevant to medical malpractice. Tort law provides the basic apparatus to define medical malpractice. In medical malpractice suits, the relief most commonly means the payment of financial damages, an amount that the lawsuit commonly specifies. The chapter describes an apocryphal legal event involving informed consent that contains other legal lessons as well. In medical events, the most common source of a criminal charge involves financial matters, commonly perpetrated against a government provider of insurance, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Almost all doctors and hospitals carry medical malpractice insurance. This insurance pays for the costs of defending medical malpractice cases and for any awards against the provider.
