Phone: (516) 487-8207
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a 30-20 vote yesterday, has approved a bill that would cap malpractice awards across the country. The bill has one benefit: it will protect some percentage of doctors in some suits from being unfairly punished by judges and juries. The cap for non-economic damages in the bill is $250,000.
The bill also has many cons, and will likely fail to be passed, according to news reprts. Supporters of the bill believe that heavy tort penalties are the cause of overburdening costs due to defensive medicine, for example: In order to prevent liabilities, doctors conduct far more tests than are needed. The logic in this argument is that the lower the penalties, the less defensive medicine is practiced. This point fails since there is no evidence that defensive medicine runs along a spectrum. One can hardly imagine defensive medicine declining even more if the lawsuit cap drops all the way to $10,000, let alone a quarter million.
The House bill will likely not pass any time soon because the Senate is generally against it and the President has voiced prior opposition to medical liability caps, although he claims he is open to working toward tort reform in other ways.
Another stumbling block for the bill is Republicans' adherence to states' rights. This bill preempts state malpractice laws, including a ban on capped liability awards in 4 states' constitutions.
As a footnote, the bill also limits legal punishment of FDA-approved drugs and devices. This is a sweeping protection for drug companies, and will likely not survive popular opinion.
If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website http://www.oginski-law.com. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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