Medical malpractice crisis

Now this is not a new subject. People have passionate views about this topic on both sides. I will try to argue why a reform is important.
There is malpractice in every profession. That is just a sad reality. Some of it is fault of system and some of it results from negligence. Medical malpractice is particularly important because it can cause permanent damage, death and/or financial loss. And almost everybody visits doctor at least once in his/her lifetime and has a potential claim against the doctor.
In USA most of the lawsuits against doctors are brought on contingency basis (plaintiff does not have to pay unless he/she wins). If one loses there is no financial loss to the plaintiff. That means one does not have to think twice before accusing somebody of wrongdoing. In my opinion this is the root cause of the crisis. Here is why
Most of the cases where gross negligence is involved do not reach courts. These cases are settled. To bring a lawsuit against any doctor or hospital, trial lawyer has to prepare the case, get the medical records, hire a specialist, depose various parties involved in the case etc etc. This all can cost ( including their time) upto 25-30 K (sometimes more if the case is complicated). Majority of the cases are won by the health care professionals. So a smart trial lawyer will take the case which has the most tragic outcome, which a jury can relate to, in order to increase his chances of winning. These kind of cases usually involve death, brain damage, limb loss or some other crippling condition. These endpoints may be just a result of natural course or unexpected complication.
For a moment think about a 30 year old man who has a small wound on his forearm and it was not properly attended to by a health care provider and he has to miss two or three days of work because of pain or other symptoms. But wound gets better and there is a small scar. This case does not cause emotional outburst. The guy lost 3 days wedges but nobody would take his case. Because the reward will be minimum.
Now imagine a 30 year old female had a small wound because of her own mistake on the face and it was properly attended to but unfortunately she develops an ugly scar because of condition called keloid formation (some people have the tendency). This case has emotional value... And has a potential case written all over it.
So there are a lot of people with small claims who will not get anywhere because it costs too much to argue these cases in the court. On the other hand death (no amount of money will bring that person back) is a potential law suit.
This does not bring about the positive changes in the way hospital operates or physician practices... These suits are not intended to do that.
Each time a doctor is sued his/her insurance company has to spend money to retain a lawyer and defend in case it proceeds to the court. The lawyers can name a doctor by mistake and may later drop his name but that doctor must report to the insurance company. There are no consequences for lawyers because they made a mistake. The insurance companies, in turn, increase the premium based on how many times one was named. This is driving up the cost of doing business.
One can argue this is a free market and the compnies will charge what a market can bear. BUT THIS IS NOT A FREE MARKET FOR PHYSICIAN. Their fees for medcare and medicaid are fixed. The other insurance companies also ask them to discount the fee shcedule to get on the panel. It is illegal for the doctors to pass the extra cost to their customers.
What should one do?