Reviewed by
HR 1215 Passes the House of Representatives, but Will HR 1215 Pass in the Senate?
Federal Tort Reform Caps on Damages Will Harm Patients and the Civil Justice System
On June 28, 2017, H.R. 1215 narrowly passed the House of Representatives. The damaging bill will now proceed to the Senate. If HR 1215 passes the Senate, President Trump has already indicated he will sign the bill into law.
Why Must H.R. 1215 Not Pass in the Senate?
H.R. 1215 is deceptively called “Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017.” In reality, it does everything but protect patients. Instead, the bill immunizes negligent nursing homes, hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical companies from facing accountability for killing patients.
Will HR 1215 Pass in the Senate?
Due to the bipartisan opposition from all Democrats and some conservative groups, HR 1215 is not expected to survive the Senate. Despite this optimism, patient advocate groups cannot rest until this harmful tort reform legislation has been killed in the Senate. Nothing is to be taken for granted in this crazy DC political climate.
How Will HR 1215 Hurt Patient’s Rights?
Here are some examples of the disastrous effects of capping damages in medical liability claims.
- If a nursing home resident is abused and killed, the most pain and suffering the victim’s family can collect is $250,000.
- If a child is given a defective medical product resulting in a lifelong brain injury, the most non-economic damages she could obtain would be $250,000.
- If a large pharmaceutical company deliberately sells a dangerous drug resulting in debilitating injury, the most the victim could recover for ruining their life would be $250,000.
Medical mistakes are now the third largest cause of death in the US. In a medical world made up of for-profit corporations, we need a strong civil justice system in order to deter bad care. If we limit corporate exposure to damages for negligent care, care will inevitably deteriorate.
Who is Behind H.R. 1215?
One would assume that doctors and hospitals fully support this legislation. Surprisingly, they are not the motivating force behind H.R. 1215. Instead, this bill is being pushed by the wealthy corporate interests that own nursing home chains, Big Pharma and insurance companies. In a recent Huffington Post article, Joanee Doroshow explains,
Organized medicine is not clamoring for this bill and why would they? Doctors’ premiums and malpractice claims are about the lowest in history. This law would have no impact on health care costs, except make them go up. And it will certainly add to the misery of children like Dahlia Ramirez, whose preexisting condition was caused by the very health care system that should have protected her, and whose responsibility this bill would eliminate.
This bill is not to benefit doctors or nurses. Like most legislation our current administration is pushing, this bill will save wealthy corporations millions at the detriment of patients and average Americans.
Unprecedented Federal Power Grab
Aside from the inherently unfair limitation on a victim’s damages, H.R. 1215 is an invasion of state’s rights in creating tort law. For this reason, many Republican members of Congress voted against the bill. Due to the unique opposition of the Democratic Party and some libertarian/conservative groups, analysts are optimistic that HR 1215 will not pass in the Senate.
Let’s Stop HR 1215 in the Senate
Protect your Seventh Amendment Constitutional right to a trial by jury. Do not let DC insiders revoke the power of your peers on a local jury. Do not offer a ‘get out of jail free’ card to bad healthcare providers and negligent nursing homes. Contact your Senators now and instruct them to stop HR 1215 before this Big Insurance kick back bill reaches the White House.
Contact Your Senator by Clicking Here
Why We Care About Stopping H.R. 1215 from Becoming a Law
Senior Justice Law Firm is made up of Florida nursing home abuse lawyers, medical malpractice attorneys and Boca Raton wrongful death lawyers. We go to work everyday to help wrongfully injured patients who have been hurt through no fault of their own. We love what we do and we’d like to continue helping innocently injured patients.
Limiting damages on medical liability cases prevents our firm from taking on meritorious cases. It would be like passing a law telling Coca-Cola that they can only sell a can of Coke for $0.15. This law would prevent the company from delivering for its customers. We believe the civil justice system is one pillar holding up the American healthcare system. We believe we are one of the few advocates for patients, not the powerful. If med mal lawyers are economically prohibited from bringing cases, we are removing that Constitutionally-protected patient safeguard.
Contact us now to learn more.
Legal Nurse Consultant
