Worksheet Week 6: Medical Malpractice 1) Fill in the blanks using the words below: “This in the exact __________ I had to sign”. The form is a legal document which surprised Nita Serrano when she showed up for her doctor's _____________ in Tampa. By signing it she waived her rights to a jury trial and agreed to __________ any dispute instead of _________... if something went wrong. “I really was scared by not - If I didn't sign this ____________ they weren't going to see me. And I guess I was having some tests followed up on so it really was like a __________was put on my head- that if you don't sign we aren't going to help you __________." Patients are discovering this lawsuit limiting __________ in more waiting rooms across Florida. The reason is simple. Doctors find it's a good remedy for them to counter what are _____________ expensive malpractice insurance premiums. Doctor -- is an OB-GYN who asks every patient of his to sign a lawsuit ___________. But he says he will make exceptions for true emergencies. “We‟re in an out-of-control __________ situation where physicians are looking for solutions that will allow them to continue to provide patient care and yet to sustain business." In Florida this is just the latest in the epic malpractice battle between doctors and trial lawyers. Four years ago, Floridians amended the state _____________ addressing what a majority felt were way too many frivolous malpractice _____________. So amendment three capped how much money attorneys can make per case in response attorneys started getting clients to sign papers weakening those caps. And in return the doctors started getting patients to sign these ___________ arbitration agreements, limiting how much they can win for pain and suffering to $250,000. "This little girl here lost her ____________”. Attorney Andrew Yaffa keeps track of all of his _________ malpractice cases and asserts that medical malpractice happens every single day. Which is why he __________never signing any sort of arbitration agreement. "In a malpractice death you're never going to recover justice, you're never going to get a fair ___________ that is going to compensate you for your loss. But out on the street she's killed in a car accident you've got that __________. It's the same life, it's the same loss." In the middle of all of this are the patients and the decision to sign or not to sign when all they really want is some immediate ______________.
2) Circle the right answer: 1. When Nita Serrano went to her doctor: a) she knew she would have to sign an arbitration agreement. b) she asked to sign the agreement because she didn‟t trust her doctor c) she was taken aback by having to sign such a form 2. She found signing the agreement was: a) a positive step forward b) a threatening evolution
c) not really an issue 3. The agreement meant: a) no jury trial was possible b) jury trials were possible in some cases c) you couldn‟t get any compensation for malpractice. 4. These arbitration agreements: a) result from a battle between doctors and trial lawyers b) came out of the blue c) are forbidden by the state‟s constitution
3) Right or Wrong? Justify with a quote: Binding agreements are an increasing trend in private practices
R/W
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Those agreements allow doctors to pay less important insurance premiums.
R/W
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Floridians changed their constitution to limit the money lawyers could win per case.
R/W
________________________________________________________________________________________ People thought that lawsuits were not always justified.
R/W
_________________________________________________________________________________________ According to Andrew Yaffa, malpractice rarely occurs.
R/W
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4) Match the words in the right column with those in the left column waiting room to waive liability physician malpractice frivolous to cap appointment to provide
Not to demand something you have a right to a medical doctor, especially one who has general skill and is not a surgeon describes an activity which is silly or unimportant rather than useful or serious a room in a place where people can sit in a doctor's office to give someone something that they need failure to act correctly or legally when doing your job, often causing injury a formal arrangement to meet or visit someone at a particular time and place to put a limit on the amount of money that can be charged when you are legally responsible for something
5) Summing up: Try to retrace the chronology of events no action; jury trial; binding arbitration agreement; high insurance premiums; malpractice; see the physician; don‟t see the physician; To get better rates, physicians want their patients to sign a
If patients don‟t sign it they
Respect of accepted standards of practice
If they do, they
6) Arbitration vs litigation available/ not possible Extensive / limited use Civil and criminal /Civil – private as soon as arbitrator selected-short /Must wait for case to Private - between the two parties/ Public - in a courtroom be scheduled-long Parties select the person /Court appoints person court costs-attorney fees costly/ fee for arbitratorFormal/Informal attorneys Arbitration Litigation Private/Public Private Type of Proceeding How arbitrator/judge selected Formality Appeal available Use of attorneys Waiting time for case to be heard Costs 7) Questions 1. 2. 3. 4.
What is the statute of limitations? Do all doctors have insurance? What are punitive damages? Are there caps on damages?
5. 6. 7. 8.
Who will decide my case? What about birth injuries? What is medical malpractice? How long will my case take?
a) Medical malpractice is just ordinary negligence by a healthcare provider which causes injury. It is no different in theory than negligence by a motorist who does not pay attention and runs a red light causing an injury b) The short answer is no. There actually is a law in Florida that says doctors must carry $100,000 in malpractice insurance in order to practice medicine. But the law also has a loophole that allows doctors to carry no insurance at all. If your doctor practices without insurance he should have a sign posted on the wall of his office advising his patients of that fact.
c) It is a time limit set by law which creates a deadline for filing a lawsuit. If you file your suit after the deadline the suit will be thrown out. Each state has its own special requirements and some states allow extensions or have exceptions to their time limits. d) Some states have enacted laws which put limits on the maximum amounts people can recover in medical malpractice or other injury cases. Florida has recently passed a new law applying limits on intangible damages in medical malpractice cases. Such damages are now capped somewhere between $500,000 and $1,500,000. 8) Pair Work STUDENT A‟s QUESTIONS 1. What comes to mind when you hear the word „doctor‟? 2. How often do you go to the doctor? 3. How do you find a good doctor? 4. What do you think about the costs of visits to the doctor in your country? 5. Do you always believe what your doctor says or do you sometimes doubt him/her? 6. Were you surprised that such agreements existed? 7. Would you have signed it? 8. Do you understand why doctors have to pay high insurance premiums? 9. Imagine you were a trial lawyer and explain the dangers of arbitration. 10. Is arbitration often used to solve disputes in France? Explain.
Vocabulary verbs □to be scared
nouns □appointment
□to waive your
□arbitration
rights □to compensate for □to cap
emergency □trend
□liability
STUDENT B‟s QUESTIONS 1. What do you think about when you are in the waiting room? 2. Have you ever changed doctors? If „yes‟, why? 3. Are you satisfied you have enough time talking with the doctor? 4. Do you always think you‟ve received top treatment from your doctor? 5. Would having to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement have an impact on this trust? 6. Do they exist in your country? Why? 7. Can you explain why doctors ask their patients to sign those agreements 8. Do you think it is justified? (High insurance premium) 9. Do you think there is a real difference between trial by jury and arbitration? 10. Explain how Floridians reacted to the alleged increase in frivolous lawsuits.
□frivolous
□ case
lawsuit □malpractice
adjectives/ pp □alleged
□healthcare □previous □private practice □fair □insurance □ludicrous premiums
link words
□obviously □basically □likewise □oddly enough □while □anyway
□for instance □so as to □definitely □eventually
9) Translation Le cabinet du Dr Wilbourn, gynécologue-obstétricien, a toujours été prospère. Il pratiquera toutefois son dernier accouchement en janvier. Le Dr Wilbourn, comme un nombre incalculable de médecins aux Etats-Unis, doit payer des primes d‟assurance pour erreurs médicales de plus en plus exorbitantes. Il a beau n‟avoir jamais été poursuivi par aucune de ses patientes, ses primes sont passées de 33 000 dollars l‟année dernière à 108 000 dollars cette année. Une telle flambée des cotisations conduit les médecins - surtout les spécialistes des disciplines à haut risque - à réduire leur activité.
10) Grammar a) Possessive pronouns and adjectives: every patient of his = each of his patients adj-nom +of+pronom possessif
=
adj + of + adjective possessif -nom
I read some articles of his articles _________________________________________________________________
She met one of my friends _______________________________________________________________________ This changes several of our beliefs _________________________________________________________________ b) much –little – a little / many – few- a few There are fortunately __________such doctors in France. However _________ malpractice cases have been revealed recently. People hesitate to sue doctors as trials cost ______________time and money.
Before surgery, however, you are made to sign___________ forms restricting the doctor‟s liability. All this is ____________bothering but we may understand __________American people exaggerate. _________ French surgeons are ready to face the same risks and as ___________lawsuits as their American colleagues. 11) Crosswords : Health Legislation
Across 3 Health Insurance _____ 5 Confidentiality, Guarantor, Etiquette, Litigious, Reimbursement, Accountability, Therapeutic, Peripheral, Etiology, Specificity, Disseminated, Emancipated, Preventive, Pharmaceutical, _____, Diligence, Metamorphosis, Indemnity 6 Failure to exercise a _____ degree of care 7 Latin word meaning "insurance". Down 1 All learning institutions offer programs where students can receive extensive hands-on-training and practice in medical insurance billing and coding. 2 Means-Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 allows individuals to purchase temporary continuation of group health plan coverage if they are laid off, are fired for any reason or must quit because of an injury or illness. 4 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996)-requires most employer-sponsored group health insurance plans to accept transfers from other group plans without imposing a preexisting condition clause. 5 Undesirable _____
12) Definition: Medical Malpractice You must put the letters back where they belong to form a sentence. Each letter is in the correct COLUMN that it should be but where in the column it goes is for you to figure out
13) Double Puzzle: Unscramble each of the clue words. Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with the same number.
