John McCormack was quoted in the Pembroke Mariner last month.
By Paula Woodhull / pwoodhull@cnc.com
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Three years after his baby daughter died, a Pembroke father refuses to give up his fight for a
patient's right to seek unlimited punitive damages in medical malpractice cases.
John McCormack says he went "into the lion's den" on Capitol Hill earlier this month fully aware of
the obstacles he faced in speaking out against a Senate bill that sought to cap jury awards to
$250,000 when a hospital or physician is found guilty of malpractice in a civil lawsuit.
McCormack flew to Washington to testify along with several other patients' right advocates who have
lost family members in what they say are clear instances of medical malpractice.
Since the issue of limiting medical malpractice punitive damages has become such a hot button
political issue, McCormack has been somewhat of a regular in the halls of Congress and on Beacon Hill.
Within the past year, McCormack has won the support of Sen. Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, in
pushing for Taylor's Law. Taylor was 2-years-old when she died in October 2000 at Children's
Hospital in Boston. The state medical board was highly critical of the hospital's handling of
Taylor's care.
The bill in Taylor's name gives families the right to have an attorney present at medical board
hearings when a hospital or physician is being investigated and to give victim impact statements
during such an inquiry. Taylor's Law is gaining notice, having been mentioned in a new book on
medical malpractice, Wall of Silence.
While in Washington, McCormack stood side by side at a press conference with Sen. Richard Durbin,
D-Ill., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in support of an alternative to the Senate bill. "I
give them a lot of credit," said McCormack.
The alternative bill put forth by Durbin and Graham, does not limit punitive damages that can
be awarded but offers tax relief of 20 percent to physicians who are affected by ever higher medical
malpractice insurance premiums. Physicians, and many of those who support the $250,000 cap, say
multi-mullion dollar judgments in medical malpractice cases are driving up the cost of
health care.
In the end, Senate Democrats managed to block the measure to limit malpractice awards but McCormack
says he plans to continue the fight, convinced that powerful interests will not rest until they
are successful in curbing medical malpractice awards.
McCormack said he will continue to speak out on the issue. "We all told all our stories," in the
Senate, he said. "We all spoke from the heart. This bill would be very unfair."