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Paul Nelson reporting There are laws on the books in seven states that waive the fees a patient has to pay if a doctor makes a serious mistake. Utah isn't one of those states.
When a mistake in a Utah hospital is made, doctors say there is no set rule on who will pay for it. Sometimes the hospital steps up, other times the patient or insurance company gets the bill.
"When anyone makes a mistake that injures another party, I think it's inappropriate to make that other party bear the cost," said Dr. Jay Jacobson, division chief for LDS and U-MED Hospitals Medical Ethics and Humanities Division.
Jacobson says there may be reasons why some hospitals don't own up to medical mistakes. "Sometimes people are very afraid that if they forgive the cost, a mistake that was made, then that would lead to things like litigation," he said.
But Jacobson says not reporting mistakes could lead to even more expensive lawsuits.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
