Thursday, March 23, 2017

Update on Congress' work on med mal tort reform

Earlier this month, I wrote a note about efforts in Congress to pass tort reform bills that could have seriously negative/damaging effects on the ability of victims of medical malpractice to recover for injuries.  Today, the PopTort has an update here. The article is called "Congress Moving to Protect Doctors Who Abuse and Assault Children."  It sounds like an exaggeration, but if you read the article you'll see why it is not. 

Saturday, March 11, 2017

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education will allow interns to work up to 28 hours without a break

At a time when it is being reported that medical errors is now the third leading cause of deaths in the US, the maximum workday for first-year medical residents just got substantially longer. The group that sets rules for training doctors announced Friday it will be scrapping the 16-hour cap on shifts worked by doctors who have just graduated from medical school.  As of July 1, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education will allow these first-year residents, also known as interns, to work 24 hours without a break — and sometimes as long as 28, if a particular transition between doctors demands it.  NPR has more on the story here.

The Associated Press notes the American Medical Student Association and the Committee of Interns and Residents oppose the change.  Also, Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group has stated that "[s]tudy after study shows that sleep-deprived resident physicians are a danger to themselves, their patients and the public," and that "[i]t's disheartening to see the ACGME cave to pressure from organized medicine and let their misguided wishes trump public health."

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Tort reform efforts under way in Congress

Now that Republicans control the Senate, the House and the White House, it is not surprising to hear about new efforts to interfere with the rights of injured plaintiffs in the name of tort reform.  Recently, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation capping damages in medical malpractice cases.  The vote was 18-17.  The federal legislation would cover individuals who are insured under Medicare, Medicaid, veterans or military health plans, and the Affordable Care Act, and could also impact people covered under COBRA or health savings plans.

Given that medical errors is now the third leading cause of deaths in the US, this is very important stuff.

The bill is based on the false premises and allegations that have been proven wrong time and time again, but that continue to be used in support of attempts to make it more difficult for injured victims to be able to recover for their injuries.  Some of these myths include the allegation that litigation costs result in more expensive services and higher insurance costs.  For a lot of information on these types of allegations and the studies that refute them you can go to the medical malpractice and tort reform sections of this blog and scroll down.  For a short critique of the house bill go here.

For more information about this and other attempts to push “tort reform” bills through the Republican-led Congress which seek to limit the rights of victims  while protecting large corporations and insurance companies go to  AboutLawsuits.

Update on tort reform in Arkansas -- UPDATED

Feb. 20, 2017:   About 10 days ago, I reported on the tort reform efforts in Arkansas (see below).  Here is an update, as reported in the TortsProf blog: The Arkansas Senate voted 21-10 to send a proposed constitutional amendment involving damage caps to the House for further consideration.  Given that 53 of the 100 members of the House are co-sponsors, it has a good chance of passing.  If the House approves the proposal, it will be on the ballot in the 2018 general election.  Arkansas Online has the story; more coverage here.

UPDATE (3/5/17):  The TortsProf blog has updates here and here.  The house bill doubled the amount of the proposed cap on non economic damages to $500,000.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that a cap is still a cap.  The new bill must now pass both houses.