TO:
CCJ Trustees
FROM:
Peter Guzzo
DATE:
March 21, 2003
SUBJECT:
Federal Medmal
The U.S. House of Representatives has committed a horrendous act of
cruelty and injustice against innocent victims of medical negligence and their
families. This legislation will do
little or nothing to slow the increases in malpractice insurance premiums for
doctors, because it is clear from all available evidence that insurance company
pricing policies, not damage awards, are the cause of premium hikes.
The bill’s $250,000 cap on pain and suffering damages will do nothing
more than punish those who have been paralyzed, blinded, brain-damaged or
otherwise horribly injured – all for the sake of more profits for insurers. It
will discriminate against children, seniors, homemakers and others who have
little or no lost wages to recover. It
will keep legitimate cases out of court, because of new limits on the time to
file cases and because potential jury awards won’t, in many cases, be worth
the considerable costs of bringing a case against wealthy insurance companies.
This bill is an affront to the American public and a reward to big
corporations for their financial support of many members of Congress.
It was sold as a measure to help doctors struggling to pay their
malpractice premiums. But while it
does nothing to lower premiums, it does shield big HMOs, drug companies,
hospitals, nursing homes and other health care-related companies from full
accountability for even the most egregious and negligent acts. Its cap on non-economic damages and punitive damages will
mean that HMOs and drug makers can harm consumers with virtual impunity because
they will know that if they are caught in a wrongful act, they will receive only
modest punishment compared to the damages they inflict.
The real problem is an epidemic of preventable medical errors, which kill
up to 100,000 people each year and injure hundreds of thousands more.
Most malpractice is caused by just a small number of doctors – five
percent of doctors are responsible for more than half of all malpractice
payments. Most victims never even file a lawsuit.
This bill devalues the lives and lost opportunities of patients who do
not earn big paychecks. Under this
bill, the life of Jesica Santillan, who died after receiving a heart and lung of
the wrong blood type, would be worth, at most, $250,000.
But the life of a highly paid CEO of a major insurance company would be
worth tens of millions of dollars. Is this the type of justice we want for
America?
The U.S. Senate may take up this measure as early as March 24, putting
the bill directly on the Senate floor without holding hearings.
A Senate bill was just introduced on March 13.
It is S-607 and is very similar to H.R. 5. This may or may not be the final bill considered by the U.S.
Senate. To learn more about this
bill, click on the following link:
http://www.centerjd.org/medmalindex.htm
Please call or fax New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators and ask them to
oppose S-607 or any legislation that restricts the legal rights of medical
malpractice victims.
Senator
Frank Lautenberg, New Jersey (D)
Phone: (202) 224-3224
Fax: (202)
228-4054
Senator
Jon Corzine, New Jersey (D)
Phone: (202) 224-4744
Fax: (202) 228-2197