Americans love hospital-based televison shows, ranging from such oldies as “Marcus Welby, M.D.” to today’s “Grey’s Anatomy” — where courageous doctors rush to help victims of car crashes, chemical spills, natural disasters and even terrorism.

In real life, our well-being often resides outside of emergency rooms — dependent on a plaintiff lawyer’s avarice. Some lawsuits, of course, are well-intentioned, but others — guided mostly by greed — play a major role in our nation’s ever-escalating health care costs.

We depend on having a viable safety net for our evolving medical needs. Lawsuits that unnecessarily increase the liability risk of health care providers tend to increase costs and add to the current high cost of health care.

Consider a $25 million dollar court award against a nonprofit charitable West Virginia hospital over a dispute that involved personal pride rather than personal injury.

A local physician was irked when the Charleston Area Medical Center refused to recognize his medical malpractice self-insurance plan. After settlement negotiations failed, he took the medical center to court and won a $25 million award from local jurors.

This is not the first time the mission of the Charleston hospital has been undermined by the plaintiffs’ bar. Only a few years ago, it was forced to close its busy trauma center because of doctor shortages caused by soaring premiums for medical malpractice insurance in West Virginia.

Now, an excessive punitive damage award to a doctor disgruntled over having his clinical privileges temporarily relinquished presents challenges to this medical center that provides good care to a far-flung patient community that includes many of Appalachia’s poor.

While West Virginia’s “judicial climate” still is ranked the worst in America by a recent survey of national employers, many other states also face rising health care tabs because their judicial systems encourage an abundance of personal injury lawsuits.

Hospital officials in neighboring Maryland are projecting a physician shortage that could be potentially severe by 2015. Lawsuit liabilities, low physician reimbursements and limited medical school capacity are key elements.

An exodus of top physicians already is occurring in New York, in large part because of rising malpractice insurance premiums. The situation is so serious that the state Legislature is considering establishing a state fund to pay for future medical bills arising from malpractice claims.

Hawaii’s medical association reports that climbing malpractice insurance costs have created a physician shortages even in that lush paradise. One obstetrician reports having to deliver more than 30 babies just to cover the annual cost of malpractice insurance.

A decade ago, Philadelphia had 19 hospitals that delivered babies. Today, only eight obstetric facilities remain, in part because of the relentless rise of malpractice premiums.

Unwanted patient outcomes are spurring high-payout lawsuits that ultimately damage health care delivery to millions of middle- to low-income Americans across the country.

A Chicago jury rendered a $22 million verdict against a hospital and a doctor when a woman died in childbirth because her high blood pressure led to a fatal hemorrhage. The money awarded her loved ones for “loss of companionship” could have been used to improve childbirth resources for countless local mothers-to-be.

Amid the varying dynamics affecting patient care, liability is a common thread. Fortunately, some states are reducing their health care bills by capping court awards against doctors and hospitals. California — often a national trend-setter — started the reform movement in 1975 when “Marcus Welby, M.D.” was still airing on TV. Its medical malpractice premiums dropped dramatically and its doctor shortage disappeared shortly afterward.

Texas’ 2003 damage-cap law is heralded for bringing more than 3,000 new doctors into the Lone Star State in 2007 alone. The quality of health care also rose significantly after the reforms in California and Texas.

With America’s health care cost increases far outpacing the cost-of-living index, West Virginia and other “judicial hellhole” states should wake up and take a cue from California and Texas.

David A. Ridenour is vice president of The National Center for Public Policy Research, a nonpartisan think-tank on Capitol Hill. Readers may write to him at NCPPR, 501 Capitol Court NE, Washington, D.C. 20002.