Families of patients maimed by medical errors denounce lawsuit-cap proposals

Families of Iowans who were severely injured by medical errors traveled to the Statehouse on Thursday to denounce bills that would limit awards in malpractice lawsuits.

The families said if the bills were in effect, they probably couldn’t have found lawyers to take their cases, even though medical providers’ mistakes or neglect caused permanent disabilities or death of patients.

“I want every doctor to know that when they cause an injury to someone, it doesn’t just change the life of that person, it changes the life of an entire family,” Ingrid Gerling of Burlington told reporters. Gerling brought her 10-year-old daughter, Nyasia, whose right hand and arm are virtually unusable because nerves were torn away from her spine as medical professionals tried to pry her out of the birth canal during a difficult birth. The doctor had ignored clear signs that the birth should have been done by cesarean section, she said.

“This was not my fault. This was not my husband’s fault. This was definitely not my daughter’s fault. This was the doctor’s fault,” Ingrid Gerling said. “Why should we be left paying for the doctor’s mistakes?”

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2017/03/23/injured-patients-families-denounce-medical-malpractice-lawsuit-caps/99548210/

[font color=330099]A cap of $250,000 is far too low for medical professional errors. While insurance companies want certainty that their exposure is limited on the risks they insure, my background in the insurance industry shows that tort reforms have a very minimal impact in reducing insurance premiums. Meanwhile, those that are injured will most likely have to resort to using other social services to survive. This in effect socializes the risk from the medical professionals and passes the burden to taxpayers.[/font]