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Malpractice News
Linder Votes To Protect Patients By Limiting Runaway Medical Malpractice Awards
House Bill Ensures Prompt Resolution of Claims While Placing Caps on Damages
Washington, D.C. - Congressman John Linder (R-Georgia) on March 13 joined with a majority of his House colleagues in voting to reform the broken medical liability system in the U.S., placing limits on soaring malpractice awards and bringing accountability back to the process. The HEALTH Act passed the House by a vote of 229-196.
“Across the country, patient care is being jeopardized by a medical liability system that rewards trial lawyers,” said Linder. “I have seen many friends leave the medical profession simply because they cannot afford to pay for their liability insurance, and it is the patients who suffer in the end. This bill should begin to address some of these imbalances,” Linder continued.
H.R. 5 is designed after a highly successful California law that has resulted in medical liability disputes being settled 26% faster, saving doctors and patients years in the courtroom, and saving California patients $6 billion annually on health care. The bill would institute a number of needed reforms, including a window of three years after suffering an injury during which an individual would be allowed to file a health care liability action and a cap on both non-economic and punitive damages. The bill would also direct that patients’ attorneys do not receive an unjust portion of a recovery, and ensure accountability by allocating damages in direct proportion to fault.
“The need for reform is clear. Malpractice insurance rates across the country have risen 505 percent since 1976, and the average jury award is now $3.5 million, up more than 70 percent since 1995,” said Linder. “The health care we receive in the United States is the best in the world because of the people who choose to enter the profession and the education they receive. It is a shame that we have allowed our runaway liability system to force many of these highly-trained professionals out of the medical field. We can - and must - do better,” Linder continued.
Less than 2 percent of malpractice claims result in trial victories for patients. Even in the case of a jury award, harmed patients receive less than 30 percent of what doctors pay for insurance.
Cosmetic surgery malpractice is a common occurrence
Negligence happens when ill-equipped medical practitioners, like doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare professionals carry out such relatively simple cosmetic procedures like botox injections and forehead lifts. Negligence of this kind is criminal. It can happen to anyone.
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Definition:
The defendant must owe a legal duty to the victim, the defendant breached that duty, the breach was the cause of an injury to the victim, there must be an injury. In most cases, there must be a physical or financial injury to the victim, but sometimes emotional distress, embarrassment, or dignitary harms are adequate for recovery.
Causalgia
Definition:
Pain, usually burning, that is associated with autonomic changes -- change in color of the skin, change in temperature, change in sweating, swelling. Causalgia occurs after a nerve injury.
Medical Practice Act
Definition:
A statute of a US state or jurisdiction that outlines the scope of practice for physicians and the responsibility of the medical board to regulate that practice. The primary responsibility and obligation of a state medical board is to protect the public through proper licensing and regulation of physicians and, in some jurisdictions, other health care professionals.
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