Patients that receive treatment for ailments enter a business contract with doctors wherein they expect to be treated fairly and competently under the care of their physician. When instances of malpractice arise, the manner in which disputes are settled can significantly impact the parties involved as well as the hospital. Emotional and financial costs are very high with litigation in malpractice lawsuits.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution are procedures that include mediation, arbitration, and negotiations to settle disputes by means other than litigation.
Litigation
The most costly method of settling legal disputes in business is litigation as it involves high fees for both the litigants and defendants who must hire lawyers to enter a system, the United States legal system, that wasn't created to solve personal disputes. Litigation entails extremely high administrative costs including attorneys' fees for both sides, court costs, expert witness fees, lost income to both parties. In addition to the financial costs associated with litigation, high emotional costs also emanate from the use of litigation as both parties must attend depositions, hearings, and a trials that are extremely time consuming.
The process is unsatisfactory in most outcomes. satisfaction is very low, and dissatisfaction with the outcome often leads to lengthy appeals that COST more money and time. Therefore, the use of ADR is more desirable in business disputes because it is less time consuming and less costly than litigation.
Negotiation
The less costly form of ADR is negotiations as it enables each party to settle their disputes without the necessity of using lawyers or arbitrators that charge the same rate per hour as lawyers. In a medical malpractice suit physicians would be in contact with patients, insurers, and administrators to attempt to amicably resolve the conflict. This is the least used form of ADR.
Mediation
Mediation is an effective...