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I guess you could roll the dice and hope the for best but you will lose your ability to sue the hospital for malpractice if they mess up.


You're making a lot of assumptions here that an out-of-country hospital would be of questionable quality and not have medical malpractice laws.

Just because other countries medical & legal systems are different than the US doesn't mean they are inferior.


The GP was talking about losing your ability sue for malpractice not implying that every other country has inferior medical or legal care.

A country can have a fine legal system for locals that's difficult or prohibitively expensive to access for non-citizens living outside the country.


One of my businesses refuses to serve Americans simply because they have a habit of reaching for the legal system if they aren't happy with the service.

All the Americans end up going to my competitor, who is currently in the midst of three lawsuits which will probably sink the company. Two of the lawsuits are with clients I turned away simply because they looked likely to sue!

You can bet that as an American, you will pay substantially more than a local for many services simply because Americans have a reputation for this sort of stuff, and local businesses don't want to take the risk.

I really wish there was some kind of certificate saying "I have never set foot in a courtroom, threatened legal action, or hired a lawyer".


That's why I don't let black people into my restaurant. Statistically, they're more likely to commit a crime once inside, so I don't want to take the risk. All the black people in town end up going to the restaurant down the street, who had their register robbed one time by a dark-skinned fellow that I turned away because he sure looked suspicious! I sure hope they've learned their lesson by now.

You can bet that as a black person in our town, you'll pay substantially more than white folks, because most of us understand that black people have a reputation for this sort of stuff and general trouble, and we don't want to take the risk.

I really wish there was some kind of certificate to let us know which ones are the docile blacks...

(Note: It should go without saying that this is a tongue-in-cheek response)


It's a poor response. Nationality is tied to legal system. For example, if a product injures me as an USAn, I need to sue to get my bills paid. As a European, I can simply get public healthcare.


If I'm a USAn doing business with a private company in a foreign country, that's not relevant. OP is using population-level trends to influence develop his bias towards individuals.


I'd be all for banning discrimination based on nationality. But we need to start with the biggest discriminators - governments. Why is an American allowed into America, but a Syrian isn't?


Theta a terrible idea. Why "start" somewhere?

Should we abuse and enslaved more people just because someone is abused or enslaved elsewhere?


And then the hospital can't sue you if you can't pay the absurd bill?


It isn't the people with legit complaints.... It's the people who do something foolish and then try to sue someone else blaming them...

If I rent you a jetski for an hour, it isn't my fault if you drive over your child with it... It's a jetski. It's dangerous. Don't expect someone else to pay if you mess up.


In a country with socialized medical care, someone else does pay.


Here in India. You pay upfront. No payment = no surgery.


Even the best hospitals make mistakes, malpractice is not just some cudgel used to beat good doctors over their heads, and America has some of the most comprehensive malpractice law in the world.

That said, if I'm wrong about that I'm interested in learning more.


> legal systems are different than the US doesn't mean they are inferior

Yes. Indian legal system is very inferior compared to USA. My family is fighting a garden variety land dispute case for over a decade. I cannot even imagine someone successfully suing a doctor here for malpractice while living in USA.


Maybe there is a chance that insurance could be enabling malpractice? I'd have to get hard data on this to make a determination but I'd wager that most reputable medical professionals try to avoid malpractice regardless of country.


I have never anticipated a medical procedure, emergency or otherwise, and considered "my ability to sue for malpractice if this goes wrong". I just don't believe this is a consideration for the actual patient, even if it was relevant (example: Canada with universal public system essentially has no malpractice lawsuits).


The alternative is often to not have the procedure at all.




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