Trial lawyers: Medical liability costs ONLY $56 billion per year!

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Trial lawyers: Medical liability costs ONLY $56 billion per year!
By: DAVID FREDDOSO
Online Opinion Editor
09/09/10 1:45 PM EDT

Our medical malpractice system costs Americans, insurers, and the government $56 billion in increased costs every year.

[A] new study — published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs — found the annual cost related to medical liability is $55.6 billion. Most of that spending ($45.6 billion) is related to defensive medicine — the tests, drugs and other procedures that doctors prescribe in order to limit the risk of being sued for malpractice.

The trial lawyers’ spin? It ONLY costs $55 billion per year!