As a patient, I would sign these. I have no intention to sue. I take responsibility for my care. I know that every penny I steal from the system comes from the hide of another patient, either by higher fees or by decreased access.

It is likely that such clauses have substantive unconscionability, proportional to the distress of the patient. Appellate courts are likely to refuse any enforcement.

The sole effective alternative is to eliminate the unlawful, unconstitutional, unconscionable, self-dealt immunities of the land pirate, dealt to him by his pals on the bench from the hierarchy of the criminal cult enterprise. These are the same pals to whom the land pirate gave huge campaign contributions.

Sue the plaintiff lawyer, the plaintiff's whore expert, the plaintiff. The latter is always an asset free dirtbag. So prosecute the lying plaintiff for perjury and criminal contempt, with prison sentences at hard labor, sick or not sick. If the plaintiff is in a coma, prosecute the family member whose idea it was to sue. To deter.

We are seeing more and more of these arbitration agreements in medicine and it will be very interesting to see how they play out when challenged in court. One area of medicine in which they are abounding is in the small retail medical clinics.

First, As you chose to berate plaintiff's experts, don't forget about the defense's "independent examiners."

Second, "Appellate courts are likely to refuse any enforcement." That's just patently false. They enforce these allllll the time. That's why we have the Arbitration Fairness Act, because people are sick of being forced to sign away their legal rights.

Finally, One thing I agree with you on is your belief that you wouldn't want to sue. No one wants to sue. One of my best friends is going through that right now, and it's hell. However, she was so egregiously harmed, and affected so heavily financially by what it did to her ability to make a living, that she essentially has to do this. Another very personal experience I just went through with a relative has shown me that as long as my loved ones get better and don't face debilitating expenses, I would hesitate to sue as well, especially given how difficult medical malpractice litigation is for victims.

However, I would never sign one of these agreements. It skews doctor-patient trust. It gives you a slimy feeling--like, there's one way trust and it ain't goin your way. I don't want anyone to cut me open if they think of me as some litigious slimeball. You trust that I won't commit malpractice on you, but I won't trust that you're not some litigious paranoid patient? Nope. Let's agree to be open and honest with one another. I love my doctor because I feel she would do that with me. But most malpractice cases are initiated because patients simply can't get any straight answers or acknowledgement or information or deserved apologies, not because they have some vendetta or just want the money.

Kia, you mention that arbitration agreements "skew doctor-patient trust". How is this different from "attorney-client trust"? I ask this as it is common for attorneys to have clients sign arbitration agreements. Recently the Civil Justice Association of California even came out supporting arbitration agreements between attorneys and clients. Why is is bad for one profession, but good for another?

I agree with Kia. Dr. T, you have to carefully read the agreement. The offeror selects the arbitor. The latter charges $800 an hour, door to door, to the offeree. The arbitration is to take place in Fallujah, Iraq, between the hours of 10 AM and 11 AM. If late, you default. Is that fair to any consumer?

I don't think the doctor-patient agreements are any different from the atty-client ones, except that maybe it's worse for the atty to impose it since s/he knows more about arbitration than a doctor probably does. I think predispute bma contracts between lawyers and their clients are just as shady. If the lawyer and client decide that arbitration is best, that's one thing. But to tell the client, sign this or I won't represent you... that sets a bad tone for the relationship.