With America's health-care system in the midst of upheaval, and with government officials, physicians, and the public-at-large focused as never before on the cost and quality of these vital services, a hidden epidemic--medical malpractice--destroys hundreds of thousands of lives each year and is ignored by the majority of the medical establishment. Lethal Medicine is the first book to thoroughly examine malpractice, and its author, Harvey F. Wachsman, M.D., J.D., as both a respected neurosurgeon and the leading attorney in the field, is uniquely qualified to critique this problem from every angle. Using numerous case histories and authoritative data from university and government studies, Wachsman explodes the common myths that doctors are spending millions of dollars on "defensive medicine" and that the high cost of malpractice insurance is driving many doctors out of their practices. In fact, he argues that most malpractice cases actually do result from egregious abuses by doctors. Reviewing the latest court rulings and malpractice policies, Wachsman calls for the lgal community, government, and medical establishment to protect the public from the thousands of physicians who continue to practice irresponsible medicine without penalty. As Washington makes health care one of its highest priorities and the nation turns its attention to the issue, Lethal Medicine is a thoughtful yet urgent cry for reform by the nation's foremost expert on the topic.