New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
While some people think that medical malpractice reform, meaning capping damage awards, is a good idea, the victims don’t, and with good reason. Many medical malpractice lawyers are also joining the hue and cry against med mal reform because of what it will do to innocent victims whose damages exceed the proposed caps – in most cases, $250,000, explained a New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer.
What’s going on in Texas could go on in Manhattan and Long Island and may well spill over to other states and this is something that needs to be watched carefully, as the legal impact may be enormous. In Texas, there are concerns tort reform just may override their own state limits on medical liability issues. Seems they don’t think the feds have the power to do that under the Commerce Clause. They also want to ensure the med mal reform law does not violate states’ rights under the 10th amendment. Missing here seems to be the concern for victims, which does come up later, but a little too little too late.
What’s going on in Texas is that they want to keep their own med mal reform law, which caps pain and suffering at $250,000 and they like the idea of tort reform. In fact, they want tort reform for all states – something other Americans are not so sure is a good idea.
Unfortunately, medical malpractice tort reform and capping damages for victims has become a political football, at the expense of those who are victims of medical malpractice.
On the Republican side of the med mal reform debate is the conviction med mal lawsuits drive up health care costs and malpractice insurance fees. On the Democrat side, they feel the problem is way overblown, that most injured patients do not sue and limiting lawsuit damages for valid cases would be unfair to the victims. The real problem is that politicians don’t seem to know what medical malpractice really is and what causes it.
Currently, the bill being discussed is one that would slap a three year statute of limitations on med mal lawsuits, cap non-economic damages at $250,000 and limit punitive damages at $250,000, or twice the economic damages or whichever is the greater. Tort reform is really taking aim at states that don’t have their own laws in place already and not taking victims into consideration in the drive to save money.
If you have been the victim of medical malpractice, you will want to talk to a skilled and compassionate New York Medical Malpractice Attorney who understands the ropes. Without knowledgeable legal help from a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney, getting a fair settlement will be an uphill battle.