Imagine you are living it up out in Las Vegas, gambling all your hard-earned dough and buying drinks left and right for you, your seven closest friends and the fat, rich, balding businessman you just met at the craps table. You lose track of time and reality, and all of a sudden an unfortunate accident induced by drunken antics and the Vegas atmosphere leaves you in dire need of emergency care.

The next morning, you are surprised to wake up five hours away from when you were last conscious. The reason? The trauma center of the University of Nevada Medical Center in Las Vegas was forced to close its doors in August, with the nearest trauma center inconveniently located.

The cause? Physicians and surgeons employed there could no longer afford the costly malpractice insurance, arising from the constant threat of lawsuits.

This is not a unique case. According to www.WebMd.com, across the country, doctors are retiring early, relocating and avoiding certain medical procedures for fear of rising malpractice insurance premiums and costly lawsuits. This phenomenon is caused by many factors, and can have some devastating consequences for us as health care consumers.

First, we will examine a clear definition of malpractice insurance: Insurance protection for doctors against mistakes they make during procedures, and the lawsuits that may be filed against them. Essentially, doctors pay a premium, or payment, each month in exchange for defense and reimbursement in event of a malpractice or negligence claim brought against them.

While this seems like an excellent idea, it has come under fire recently. Insurance companies are raising premiums so much that doctors are barely able to afford them, and placing a cap of $250,000 payout on malpractice lawsuits.

Due to the litigious, conflict-prone nature of society, the average award from malpractice cases in 2001 rose to $1 million, a 110 percent jump from 1996. Basically, this means that if a doctor is sued for $1 million, insurance companies will pay $250,000 and doctors will have to fork over the remaining $750,000.ÿ

It’s no wonder in the past year, 150 Nevada doctors have retired early, and 86 have applied for licenses in other states. According to the Nevada State Medical Association, these numbers are expected to increase substantially in 2003.ÿ

So who is at the root of this? Maybe lawyers. Trial lawyers appear more intent on mining the legal system for personal gain, rather than compensating the victims of accidents. The term “pain and suffering” is defined too arbitrarily, so lawyers can claim an almost unlimited amount of money for their clients, and take a good chunk of those winnings. This forces insurance companies to raise their premiums.

The public opinion assumes that because malpractice cases are on the rise, standards of care are declining, although I feel this couldn’t be further from the truth. Other factors exist, including the decline of an intimate relationship between doctors and patients, and the ability of medical experts to testify against each other in malpractice cases.

Let’s look at another potential consequence of these events. Suppose in three years you graduate and move to Florida. After securing a good job and settling down, you decide you would like to have a baby (this obviously applies to women only).

Since OB/GYN practitioners are being hit with $150,00-$200,000 yearly malpractice insurance premiums in Florida, most have relocated or quit the business by that time. Your choices are to move to a different state to find medical assistance, accept substandard care or hold out on the whole reproducing dream.

I envision that this could be just the beginning, if the trends continue like they do. Suddenly, health care is going to become unaffordable for the common consumer, on top of a shortage of doctors and surgeons. The public may not get the health care it needs or deserves.

On an extreme level, women may not have as many babies, due to the cost of delivering a child, and life-saving surgery options may not be available because specialists such as neurosurgeons have become sparse. These are two very significant health issues.

Ashley Pierson is a senior in finance from Forest City.