malpractice
A few years ago, a friend of mine gave birth to a daughter, her second child. A few weeks into the child's life, it became apparent she was suffering from cerebral palsy. Not long after, my friend, whom I'll call Carol, bumped into her ob/gyn doctor on the street and told him about her daughter's diagnosis. In a good world, the moral and legal context of such a conversation would encourage the doctor to express sympathy. But the doctor, looking stricken, and clearly terrified about being sued, immediately said, "Well I hope you don't think it was because of anything I did." Carol, who was…