Virginia Medical Malpractice Blog - Williamson & Lavecchia, L.C.

Republican Health Care Bill Takes "Tort Reform" to Extremes

Republican members of Congress put forward their own healthcare reform bill last month to counter the healthcare bill authored by Democrats, which currently has majority support.

Among other things, the bill seeks to cap non-economic damages for injured victims of medical malpractice at $250,000.

President Obama has made clear that he wants to work with groups such as the American Medical Association to achieve reform, but he is not interested in implementing limitations on the rights of injured patients.

Neither should our lawmakers, and neither should private citizens. Senator Bob Casey called the proposal "insulting to our system of justice."

We regularly see, and handle, legitimate cases of medical negligence or wrongdoing where the victim has already suffered upwards of a million dollars in medical damages. Placing further restrictions on these victims' rights could serve only to help insurance companies' bottom lines, and provide no benefit to the American people.

Estimates on the impact of malpractice "reform" range from predicting that it would have no effect whatsoever on healthcare costs to predicting that it would provide for tiny incremental savings. The downside, however, is enormous.

This debate may strike the average citizen as academic until he or a loved one suffers a terrible injury due to someone's negligence. Then he is unlikely to be sympathetic to insurance giants.

If you are injured in the future, who would you want to decide how much money you are entitled to? A jury of your peers, or the insurance lobby, by way of oppressive federal regulation?

If you have strong feelings, contact your lawmaker. In the meantime, if you or someone you know has suffered as a result of medical malpractice, contact a lawyer at Williamson & Lavecchia to protect your rights.