Texas residents.......Prop 12.......

[eddiek]

What are your opinions on this?

I can see both sides.

I've not been on the other side of the coin, being a victim of shoddy medical care, but I have known people who have.  Most were not interested in suing anyone, they just wanted to get on with their lives and get past the experience.  Not that they didn't deserve some compensation for the errors in the treatment they received (like having activated charcoal instilled into the lungs instead of the stomach.............BIG TIME mistake on the part of the attending physician and the resident), but at some point one must ask "What am I really gaining from all this?"

As a healthcare professional, it worries me to see my insurance premiums keep going up and up (even nurses are encouraged to have malpractice insurance).  What is most aggravating is knowing that even though I do my best each and every time I work a shift, there are others out there who are only in healhcare for the money, and their shoddy work makes it harder and harder for all of us.
But IMHO, most of the mistakes we see in medical care today stem from one thing:  Corporate involvement in healthcare.  
You take a chain of hospitals all tied together and answering to a main office 500 or a 1000 miles away (or more), and the bottom line is not quality of care..........it is the almighty dollar, and the "make a profit" mentality.
I am not into the idea of the government getting involved in the day in and day out operations of healthcare, but at some point, something needs to be done.  More and more, especially at larger hospitals, I see dangerous understaffing.......like 20-30 patients for each nurse.  This is far too many patients for one nurse to deal with, and inevitably leads to patient dissatisfaction and mistakes on the part of the medical practitioner.  

Instead of setting limits on how much compensation victims receive, if the government is going to involve itself with medical care, how about setting standards and regulations on staffing.  The most efficient medical facilities I have ever worked were considered "not for profit" or community based, and the bottom line there was and is quality care.  
Until quality of care becomes the focal point of medicine, and not profits, we will continue to see more and more lawsuits and more and more understaffing.

Just my two cents worth.......

[Fatty]

I'm voting for it, wouldn't consider otherwise.  A very small step in the right direction.

[AKIron]

I'm for it.

The limitation of $250K is for noneconomic damages (pain and suffeing). Should someone be rendered unable to work/function due to malpractice appropriate compensation can be made without limit.

So many false and/or bloated claims will soon make health care either unattainable or lacking in quality. If I have to pay someone for health care I'd rather it be the doctors than the lawyers.

[Skuzzy]

Bandaids.

I sat on a civil suit where the plaintiff was sueing the doctor and hospital for not preventing her heart attack.  The upshot of it all was she flatly refused to take care of her personal health.
The doctor had told her to exercise and had prescribed a diet plan along with some blood pressure medication.
She ignored both.  The night she had the heart attack, she had been to Chili's, around 9pm, and had a plate full of fajitas,  guacomole, and peppers.
A coupld of hours later she had chest pains.  She took an antacid and lied down.  A couple more hours later, her husband called the doctor (2am) and told the doctor she was having bad indigestion.
The doctor prescribed some prescription antacid and told him that if she was not feeling better, then to call him back.
The next morning, she finally goes to see the doctor, who immediately called for an ambulance, gave her oxygen and got her to the hospital.
She was having a heart attack.

She sued and won somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-6 million dollars.  The insurance company figured they were not going to get it any lower and paid up.

I was livid, and the only juror who refused to give her a nickel.  Everyone else thought is was great to beat up the bad insurance company and see the little guy get some cash.  I still get angry about this.

[Ripsnort]

[Edit: Thought better of it.

[mora]

How much do you have to pay for a health insurance?

[MwXX]

Understand your point AK, Skuzzy, ect...but,

When A doctor makes a major mistake at a childs birth, causing lifetime damage such as brain damage, loss of limbs on the right side of the childs body, handicapped for life.....

All due to a doctors refusal to act correctly and follow procedure....

why? taking a personal phone call while delivering a baby trying to sell a house.....

Now, mind you....my friends family has not taken any action, nor will they. Just for the fact of going through all that political BS.

So, your telling me that that mistake is worth 250k? therapy alone on this kid is over 50K a year, and medical is over 40k

I dont want to argue this point...but just an example of a close family friend.


My problem is with the words, "and other actions" legally speaking can mean an amount of just about anything.

Just the other "honest" side of it...ya know?

Dont bash me guys....just venting my dislikes with it.

[Fatty]

The emotional suffering is limited to that.  Economic damages (which would include medical expenses) remain unlimited.

[Gadfly]

Hard to say, I haven't really paid much attention to the actual bill, just the propaganda from both sides.  Anyone have a copy of the actual amendment?

[Skuzzy]

MwXX,..there are doctors out there who should not be practicing medicine, to be sure.  Then there are doctors who are attentive and do the best they can with what they are given to work with.

The trouble is, in court, it is irrelevant.  Both get smacked.

That is what my "Bandaids" comment was about.  This does not solve the problem, it only puts a bandaid on the wound, which is still seething and oozing.

In the case I mentioned, how in the heck did it get to trial?  Are people not responsible for their own health anymore, to the point that when they abuse themselves they can now sue and win enough money to retire.  Heck of a deal.

It's a no-win situation.

[Gadfly]

I was in jury selection, some little auto accident/neck case.  The lawyer for the plantiff was asking questions of the pool.  He asked this one, which made me(and others) laugh out loud, Real loud, and led to my dismissal from the case:

"Would it prejudice you to my client if you knew that he called the doctor from my office, on my ugring, 3 days after the accident"


Another lady that I bowl with made the jury, and they awarded the scum nothing.

[MwXX]

No, I agree 1,000,000,000~infinity % LOL

Just making a comment on those who it might hurt.

Though I dont wish this or any situation on anyone....


Ive done the surveillance on these people...and in my opinion....if your gonna sue, something BETTER be wrong with you! Now adays these frivolous lawsuits are starting to be accounted for. Once judgment is made, I guarantee you a company is hired to find fault with your claim....once your caught, life "pertaining to your judgment" is over.

So to those even "thinking" about suing....

we are watching you!

LOL

[GtoRA2]

My mother had a case 3 back surgeries and another surgeon who was more then willing to say in court the first surgeon f-ed up big time.

Cali has a law like this as well.  The result? My mom could not find a decent lawyer who would take the case. Not enough money in it for them, for the amount of time they predicted.

Do i have a problem with the law? Even though my mother suffers on perminant disability and is always in pain( proscribed Moraphine).

No, its a good law, for the cases like my mom, where she got boned by a doc and the system it sucks. But there are tons more just trying to make a buck. We have to many people trying to game the system and need laws like this, even though they can hurt some people.

What it has tought me? 99% of lawyers are ****ing scum bags, and need to be shot. They will be our downfall.

[Dnil]

ummm.  Its not the law, its the Jurys awarding the absurd amounts.

Leave it alone and make jurys held accountable.  

Been involved in 2 malpractice cases.  Lotsa ****ty doctors out there.  I had at least 2 myself.  

My only complaint are the take the lawyers get out of it.  Doesn't make since some of the fees these guys get.


Insurance companies and lawyers, hate um both.

[eddiek]

"Are people not responsible for their own health anymore, to the point that when they abuse themselves they can now sue and win enough money to retire. Heck of a deal."

That is one of the reasons I do the agency nursing.  Too many "revolving door" patients, ones who don't take care of themselves, don't follow any medical advice, ignore any and all patient teaching and disease related literature..........they get admitted, get treated like kings and queens, get discharged....back in as little a week with the same problems.
I finally got my fill of the narc seeking patients and the noncompliant diabetics and cardiac patients at the local hospital.  Felt like I was wasting my time and energy on them, knowing they were going to do the same old thing soon as they got home.

Example:

Young woman, in her 20's, gets admitted with a diagnosis of Sickle Cell crisis.  Pretty dang serious.
However, her doctor knows that her "normal" lab values are always in what is considered the "critical" or "crisis" range, they are never normal.
He admits her, prescribes Demerol 75mg with Phenergan 25mg IV push every 4 hours, AS NEEDED.
This woman would not let 4 hours go by....she was on the call light at 3 hours, then every 5 minutes after that til she got her fix of Demerol.
Ok.....fast forward a few days........the doctor cuts her off the Demerol, orders Darvocet.  She refuses it, says it doesn't work.  I ask her what she takes at home for pain:  "Darvocet, of course." is her reply.
"It works at home, but it doesn't work here in the hospital?"
She tells me to leave her room, I get reassigned away from her end of the floor.
Her doctor also leaves orders for a sedative in case she starts throwing a fit when she cannot get her Demerol fix (he left town for the weekend, the scumbag).....she refuses it.  Her reason:  "I might sleep past time for my next dose of Demerol!"
Repeat this several times, month after month after month........we note that she comes in the same time each month.  When?  At the end of the month when her Medicaid runs out, and she cannot buy anymore Darvocet.  

I ask her MD the reason for the continued orders for Demerol and such.
"She will sue us for everything we are worth if we don't give her what she wants.  It's that simple.  Either we give it to her, or get sued.  I'd rather just give it to her and get it over with than have to go to trial and defend myself for HER drug addiction."

The system is nuts, screwed, just plain crazy.