Last week, Republicans took their first steps to repeal President Obama's landmark healthcare legislation, the Affordable Care Act. While no replacement bill is forthcoming, many wonder how their rights will be affected. No one is sure exactly what any new provisions will look like and what their effect will be, however several of the ideas propose may deprive patients of important rights.
For example, some discussions include the adoption of health courts - made up of medical industry professionals or panels who would decide the amount of money patient's harmed by negligence would be entitled to. If implemented, health courts could unconstitutionally deprive patients of their right to trial by jury, and would very likely lower the amount recovered by vicitms. Further, many provisions suggested include caps on damages, simiilar to those already in place in California under MICRA, curtailing the ability of families to recover all of the compsensation the deserve, especially children, the elderly, and those of limited economic means.
With medical errrors being the third leading cause of death in America, changes to health care law should be focussed on improving safety, rather than limiting the rights of those who need medical attention.
At Bostwick & Peterson, our California medical negligence attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of those injured by medicals. For more information, please contact our experienced medical malpractice law firm immediately.