Getting information and becoming an active participant in one's treatment is a source of empowerment to the patient; I think the place where I was most exposed to the change is in gynecological practice. The entire way women are treated at the doctor's office has been modified for the better. The information you are provided with and the tools to take your health into your own hands have really transformed the experience - positively.

That said, whenever there is empowerment, some will misuse it. Frankly, I think these lawsuits don't really make anyone happy; naturally, the compensation is helpful, but I'm not sure that even for the patient it's worth the mental and emotional saturation in the details throughout the legal process. This is another case where both for the doctors and the patients, the process is the punishment.