A group of medical malpractice survivors and their family members gathered Wednesday in Collinsville to protest President Bush’s proposal to cap juries’ pain and suffering awards in malpractice cases and to request a meeting to show the president firsthand the effects of doctors who practice bad medicine.
"We are here today on the eve of President Bush’s visit to Collinsville to present a different side of the story in medical malpractice -- the side of patients, families and consumers," said Amber Hard, a spokeswoman for the Center for Justice and Democracy, the New York-based, anti-tort reform organization that put together the event. "(Today), President Bush will outline a proposal that will be devastating for families and for patients like the people you see here."
While many legislators and individuals affiliated with the medical industry argue that creating caps on non-economic damages would reduce doctors’ skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums, Hard and plaintiffs’ attorneys disagree. They indict the unregulated insurance industry for boosting rates to benefit their profit margins.
"The solution is regulating insurance costs," Hard said. "Some states, like California, have regulations on insurance rate increases, and in California, insurance rates have gone down, and they are not experiencing this problem of doctors not being able to pay the premiums."
"This proposal will not help doctors by lowering their high insurance premiums, and the proposal will not help consumers by lowering high health care costs. What it will do is devastate victims of medical malpractice," she said.
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