Andrea Batista Schlesinger

DMI on the SOTU: “Medical liability reform”

Capping damages would do little to decrease health care costs, but would let hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers get away with cutting corners on patient safety and would hinder injured patients from getting justice.

* Medical malpractice reform is not the only solution to the lack of affordable healthcare for working Americans. What's more, it would allow businesses to reduce the level of precautions they take to avoid harming others. Restricting the amount of money an individual can seek for medical malpractice or other health care-related wrongdoing would hinder many people in the middle class' ability to hold unscrupulous companies accountable for selling unsafe products, ripping off consumers, polluting the environment and employing unfair labor practices. Capping malpractice awards would limit people's access to justice and be less effective in deterring wrongdoing. The President's claim to make healthcare more accessible and affordable by limiting malpractice liability is invalid and its only outcome is limiting citizens'-particularly low-income citizens'- access to the civil justice system.
Relevant Statistics:

* Percentage of the nation's health care expenditures that are attributable to malpractice: 0.62%

* Estimated number of patients who die in hospitals each year due to medial malpractice: 98,000

Andrea Batista Schlesinger: Author Bio | Other Posts
Posted at 9:48 PM, Jan 31, 2006 in Civil Justice
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