TENANT'S CORNER The Michigan Daily TU: Getting what you pay for Edited and managed by Students at the With this piece, the Da"iily University of Michigan initiates a weekly column re- served for the discussion of . y tenant issues and complaints Friday, May 23, 1975 and the programs of local ten- X- ants' rights organizations. Any News Phone: 764-0552 group or individual feeling abus- ed or victimized by Ann Ar- bor's uniquely lucrative hous- ing industry is invited to sub- mit material for future c o 1- Ha~nd dryers harsh- blow- WILL INDIGNITIES NEVER cease? The UGLI manage- ment has once again extended the wet hand of in- justice to its book-browsing patrons by tearing out the washroom paper towel dispensers and replacing them with electric hand dryers. Certainly enough hot air finds its way into the un- inspiring edifice hideaways and hallways without a fur- ther intrusion into the excretory enclave. For decades the paper folds served an invaluable, therapeutic purpose, providing the kind of manual exer- cise crucial to the maintenance of muscle tone and bod- ily well-being, and giving the desk-bound UGLIites the promise of a regular respite from their debilitating drud- gery. But now those days are gone forever. The wad has been played out., The prospect of a drip-dry denoument to the finals fanatic's wee hour cold splash in the faceis enough to dampen the most resiliant of spirits. WILL BLUNDERS never decease? What further abuses await the lavatory loiterers? Why not vacuum hoses in the stalls? Or pay sinks, while they're at it? BY LARRY COOPYERMAN and STEVE DOWNS TEN YEARS ago, tenants na- tionwide had very few rights. In urban and suburban areas, they suffered from high rents a n d poor maintenance. In response to these conditions, tenants banded together to attempt to improve their situation. The .Ann Arbor Tenants Union is such an organization of tenants. Since its founding in 1968, the purpose of the Ann Arbor Ten- ants Union has been to secure legal rights for tenants, to im- prove housing conditions in the city, and, generally, to be an effective tenant advocate. The Tenants Union seeks to achieve these goals by inform- ing individual tenants of their legal rights and by organizing groups of tenants into locals ac- cording to neighborhood, land- person, or management com- pany. The ultimate goal of this ac- tivity is to attain the right of tenants to determine he con- ditions of their leases (i.e. rent, duration, right to. maintenance, etc. . . ) through collective bar; to have the backing of a strong gaining with their landpersans. tenants' union. The best way to Given the present housing mar- build a strong tenants' union is ket, this right is essential if to have the support of every tenants are to have any control tenant. The landpersons are or- over their living conditions. ganized; tenants should be, ta. AS a tenant advocate, t h e Tenants Union helps all tenants, whether it be on an individual Larry Cooperman a n d or collective basis. The b e s t. Steve Downs are staff mem- way for tenants to protect their bers of the Ann Arbor Ten- rights and win furtherconces- hers o nn sions from their landpersios is ants Union. Malpractice suits: Legal operations By ALAN RESNICK WITHIN THE past few years, malpractice suits against hospitals and doctors h a v e grown rapidly in both number and coat. The plethora of law- suits have grown so costly, that the entire practice of medicine in America may be significant- ly altered if action is not im- mediately taken to alleviate the malpractice crisis. During the past 5 years, claims of malpractice against doctors have more than doub- "In the case of neg- ligence, t h e courts have a moral duty to compensate the vic- tims of malpractice. The courts, however, must be able to distin- guish between failures due to genuine negli- gence and those that occur despite c o n- scientious m e di ca l care. led in frequency. In 1969, St. Paul Fire, the largest malprac- tice insurer, had claims pend- ing against 1.in every 23,doc- tors insured. By 1974, it h a d grown to 1 doctor in every 10. The size of claims has also increased drastically. In 1969, the average claim, including settlement expenses, was $6,705. By 1974, that average had climb- ed to $12,534. Prior to 1974 the largest mol- practice award in Illinois had been $534,000. Last year, t h e biggest award in that state was $2.5 million. In California, there were 30 awards of over $300,000 each in 1974, and half of those topped the $1 million mark. THE IMMEDIATE c o n s e- quence has been an astronomi- cal rise in the cost of malprac- tice insurance for doctors and hospitals. The Argonaut Insur- ance Company, the second larg- est malpractice insurer, cur- rently charges as much as $14,- 329 for malpractice insurance for "high risk" professionals, such as orthopedic surgeons. Argonaut now proposes prem- ims that would range up to $45.000 a year for orthopedic surgeons. In Chicago, Children's Me- morial Hospital has just had its malpractice insurance prem- ims increased by 650 per cent. Mirhael Reese Medical Center of Chicago has had its prem- inms increased 500 per cett. In New York, 23 hospitals are fac- ed with a 600 per cent increase is malpractice costs. This, of course, must be pas- sed on to the patient. Patients in Michael Reese will pay an additional $12 per day for their rooms just to cover the cost of malpractice insurance. Certainly, the cost problems faced by doctors and patients are of vital concern. Yet, the malpractice crisis has already beein to affect other aspects of health care and the medical profession. MANY DOCTORS are becom- ing reluctant to try new yet risky procedures which might provide a cure for diseases which are now considered incur- able. Increased numbers of doctors are now practicing defensive medicine. This practice includes taking additional lab test and X-rays, as well as ordering ex- tended hospital stays in order td avoid charges of negligence in malpractice suits. The cost of defensive medi- cine adds an estimated 10 per cent to the cost of a medical bill. Caspar Weinberger, Secre- tary of HEW, has estimated that "high malpractice insurance premiums and the defensive medicine that results costs the public between 3 billion and 7 billion dollars a year." There are several reasons for this increase in the frequency and costs of malpractice suits. There is a "malpractice men- tality" among many patients, a result of sympathetic j u r i e s rewarding plaintiffs excessive- ly high sums of money. Increas- ing numbers of plaintiffs are su- ing for injuries they contend oc- curred a decade or more ago. ST. PAUL FIRE paid $107,- 590 in 1969 to settle claims bas- ed on 1969 incidents. By 1974, the insurance company had paid, or had claims pending worth 513,603,410 - all based on 1969 incidents. Lawyers must accept much of the blame for the malpractice crisis. Because lawyers charge a contingent legal fee, the laiuge amounts that have been award- ed by juries have tempted more lawyers, as well as patients, to file suits. "Shrewd" lawyers- who sense the possibility of a large malpractice award, can cajol their clients into asking for increases sums o fmoney; their lawyer's fee will increase in turn. Malpractice suits are also due in part to a "Marcus Wel- by" complex, which leads pa- tients to expect perfect results, and a growing consumer de- mand for accountabiliy. As in all professions, s in c n error occurs. In the case of negligence, the courts have a moral duty to compensate the victims of malpractice. T h e courts, however, must be able to distinguish between fail-ires due to genuine negligence and those that occur despite conscientious medical care. THERE ARE a growing num- ber of physicians who see pa- tients as potential law suits. Ac- cording to Dr. Hushang Javid, a cardio-vascular surgeon at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, "a, doctor deals with life and deatsh situations every day. He has to be free to think of only o n e thing - the health of th pa- tient." The diagnosis and repair of a bodily function is subject to many conditions and alterna- tives, some dictated oy nature, some by environment, and many incapable of being recognized or defined by the most searching and astute diagnosticians. It sho'ld be incumbent uron the courts to make it clear °hat medicine is not an exact sci- ence. Diagnosis and c-re is based on the best prudent judg- ment that modern scienific re- search can offer. Perhaps fifty years hence, our present medi- cal practices will be looked spon as we now look upon the covered wagon as a means of transportation. TO HALT the stampede of claimants, a quid-nro-go'i doc- trine could be established where- in the attorney for a plaintiff, as well as the plaintiff, wottid be held liable for all damages and losses sustained by a doctor if he is found innocent of negli- gence in a court of iaw. If fac- ed with such a law, perhaps lawyers would only agree to ac- cept clients whose claims of negligence were sound ones. Laws prohibiting the contin- gent legal fee should be passed. This is a contract where a law- yer does not charge his client for his services unless an award is made. If an award is given, the lawyer takes a portion of the award as his share. Limits on the amount of mo'- ey that can be awarded by