A Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in December set a new precedent in medical malpractice litigation, expanding the claim of "negligent infliction of emotional distress" (known as the NIED claim) to include people who've been emotionally harmed but suffered no physical damage due to medical negligence. In other words, people can have their day in court.

Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) has commented twice before (here and here) at our Legal Pulseblog on the indigestion-causing class action suits that were filed in New Jersey and California against Ferrero, the maker of Nutella. The gist of the complaints is that Ferrero misled consumers with statements and images on the product label and in ads that Nutella was "healthy" by not being sufficiently transparent about the sugar and fat it contained.

The economics are irrefutable, and the human evidence is sobering. The present medical liability situation in this country is adding to the already high cost of American medical care, driving physicians away from certain geographies and practice specialties -- and shortchanging patients in the process.

Ask doctors what concerns them most, and chances are they'll say, "medical malpractice." A recent New England Journal of Medicine study found that 75% of doctors who practice psychiatry, pediatrics or family medicine will be sued during their career.