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Medical Malpractice
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Medical Malpractice
Medical Malpractice Reform and the Health Care Bill: Let's Penalize the Patients More
In the sad misinformed debate over fixing our national healthcare system, a favorite canard of Republicans involves the extent to which malpractice settlements and verdicts drive our increases in health care costs. The fact is that the United States Justice Department examined this during the Bush administration and found that this was bologna.(http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/press/mmicss04pr.htmUnfortunately, this does not stop politicians opposed to providing health care to all United States citizens from deluding themselves and their constituents. Tort reform has been fostered by big business, big pharma and big medicine. Its effect is to take away a true right to trial by jury as envisioned in the Constitution.
What do I mean? Jurors in Maryland are constrained by our so-called non-economic damages cap without even knowing it.They routinely pour over the horrific damages visited upon their fellow citizens arrive at a unanimous verdict only to have it reduced by the trial judge if it exceeds particular pre-defined amouts for the specific year.
Which is say a death on December 31st is automatically worth less than one the next day. It also serves to penalize those most catastrophically injured to a greater extent. Why?
Because, the damages cap applies to all medical malpractice cases whether it is paralysis or a temporary injury. If a jury returns a large verdict for someone with a badly broken leg it is not suprising but certainly such an injury should not result in the same compensation as quadraplegia. Yet, the damages cap limits either injury to the same maximum amount.
Fair? Absolutely not, but at least the limitations are not as great as in Mississippi or Texas where $250,000.00 is your limit dead or alive.
So, we need a national law to deprive more families and individuals of anything remotely approaching fair compensation right? I think not.
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