Many members and patients of Kaiser Permanente are unaware of a fact that may limit their options for bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the HMO. An arbitration clause is written into every member contract, and every patient has agreed to binding arbitration as opposed to having their case heard in court.
Why Arbitration?
Kaiser Permanente quickly found that some of the cost cutting measures that they take lead to an increased incidence of medical malpractice and high legal and liability costs. Their solution was to enforce binding arbitration to lower the cost of going to court, and the often high payouts for juray awarded Medical Malpractice Verdicts.
Initial Results
At first, Kaisers system was so slow, that many patients and their attorneys spent years trying to reach a settlement or solution to their claims. Finally, a California Supreme Court Judge threatened to force Kaiser to have all cases heard in court if they didn’t rectify the problem. As a result, Kaiser has imporved the expediency of their arbitration process and is settleing and handling cases in a far quicker fashion.
What Does this Mean for Patients?
While binding arbitration does not mean victims of Medical Malpractice in Kaiser hospitals do not hav legal recourse, quite the contrary. The arbitration system seeks to minimize the cost of litigating a medical malpractice claim in court. However, patients may not get the large settlements which are customary in court heard cases.
Nevertheless, a competent medical malpractice attorney can make sure Kaiser is held acountable for their negligence, and patients suffering from medical malpractice be compensated to the full extent of the law.
How to Get Legal Help
Kaiser patients who’ve experienced negligent medical treatment, and suffered an undue injury as a result should talk to a medical malpractice lawyer to find out what options are available to file suit and demand compensation for the wrong done unto them.
