Law Review Article

The Michigan Law Review  has published an interesting article called "Doctors & Juries" by Philip G. Peters, Jr.

Here is a synopsis of the article:  "Physicians widely believe that jury verdicts are unfair. This Article  tests that assumption by synthesizing three decades of jury research.  Contrary to popular belief, the data show that juries consistently sympathize more with doctors who are sued than with patients who sue them. Physicians win roughly half of the cases that expert reviewers believe physicians should lose and nearly all of the cases that experts feel physicians should win. Defendants and their hired experts, it turns out, are more successful than plaintiffs and their hired experts at persuading juries to reach verdicts contrary to the opinions of independent reviewers."

One of his conclusions:  "As a consequence, politicians and critics of jury performance in medical malpractice cases should think twice before concluding that doctors will be treated more favorably in health courts."

Read the article here. 

Thanks to Phillip Miller for letting me know it was out there.