Medical Malpractice Arbitration : Not Business As Usual

There is an interesting exception to businesses’, employers’, and service providers’ seemingly universal embrace of arbitration processes, particularly mandatory pre-dispute arbitration. Although it may be difficult to believe given arbitration’s current popularity, not everyone requires his or her clients to sign mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements. In fact, some service providers prefer to avoid arbitration regardless of whether it is arranged pre- or post-dispute. So which merchants or service providers are choosing to forgo arbitration and, more importantly, why do they dislike arbitration? And do politics have anything to with their choices? Physicians are not, shall we say, the world’s greatest fans of arbitration. It turns out that regulatory policies and practices, in other words politics, provide one important reason why physicians prefer to avoid arbitration. And there are additional reasons that explain why this particular group of service providers has not followed the “mad rush” to arbitration. This article will explain why at least one group of service providers, physicians, do not regard arbitration as the answer to all of their prayers