Are they fair the physicians? A trial lawyer writes about this, and wonders what the effects of tort reform would be:

In the end, the medical malpractice tort reform argument honestly distilled is this: it is best for the overall patient’s health to limit medical malpractice awards because doctors will be more honest about mistakes . . . and/or it will lead to less defensive medicine. (Although if you are treating me, I say practice all the defensive medicine you like[.] I’ve never fully understood why this is a bad thing.) Even though this might lead to injustice for a few particular plaintiffs who have suffered greatly as the result of the negligence of a doctor, the argument goes, it serves the greater good.

As to why defensive medicine is not desirable, I refer the good lawyer to an op-ed I wrote on the subject.