Anaesthesia and the law: the North American experience

The professional liability climate in the United States can best be described as tempestuous in most areas of the U.S. The major strategy of organized anaesthesia and the professional liability insurance industry is to attempt to reduce patient injury. In the unlikely eventuality that human error and equipment failure in anaesthesia can be eradicated, some patient injury will inevitably still occur. For this reason tort reform is necessary, and alternatives to the tort system need to be developed to compensate injured parties adequately without bankrupting the medical system.