Merlyna Adams of Louisiana sported a large round button on her lapel as she addressed reporters at a press conference yesterday. The button simply said: “I am not frivolous.”
Merlyna and eight families who have fallen victim to medical malpractice traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask their members of Congress to oppose proposals that would limit patients’ legal rights in the health care reform legislation.
Merlyna is a school principal whose medical treatment for a kidney stone in 2007 led to a lengthy stay in a hospital’s intensive care unit, congestive heart failure, renal failure, pulmonary failure and amputation of both her hands and her legs below the knee. All of this was preventable. She told her story frankly and eloquently to the news media, and again in meetings with her state’s members of Congress. The everyday tasks that so many people take for granted, like brushing their teeth or eating, she no longer can do on her own, she said.
Steven Olsen of California and his family also took part in the patient safety lobby day. In 2001, an HMO denied Steven, then a two-year old, an $800 CAT scan after he had taken a fall while hiking. Today, Steven is blind and brain-damaged and must be watched constantly. A jury awarded Steven $7.1 million in non-economic compensation, but California’s caps-on-damages law forced the judge to reduce the amount to $250,000, which equals $4,000 for every year of his life until he reaches 60, his mother Kathy told reporters at the press conference.
The stories of Merlyna Adams, Steven Olsen and others show that the incessant shouts from so-called tort reformers of “frivolous lawsuits!” and “jackpot justice!” are simply bogus. Most malpractice victims who survive their ordeal suffer serious injuries and require lifelong medical care. And the number of victims who don’t survive is astounding. According to the Institute of Medicine, about 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors.
That’s why it’s imperative that Congress rejects malpractice “reform” proposals that strip patients of their rights. Instead, improving patient safety should be a top priority of health care reform. After all, the best way to reduce the cost of medical malpractice lawsuits is to reduce the malpractice. Find out more about how to take action in support of real malpractice reform here.
Public Citizen joined with the following groups to host the patient safety lobby day: Alliance for Justice, American Association for Justice, Center for Justice & Democracy, Consumer Watchdog, National Consumers League, National Women’s Health Network, NCCNHR: The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care and USAction.
My mother was killed in an instance of medical malpractice and we could not find a lawyer willing to take the case. I am sick and tired of incompetent medical quacks killing and butchering people and then demanding “tort reform” so they cannot be sued for their malpractice.
When doctors start having to live in my neighborhood, I’ll start being concerned about their malpractice insurance costs.
If the medical monopoly would police their own – which they don’t – the cost of malpractice insurance would plummit because they would be so rare.
Limiting patient’s rights in malpractice cases is one more example of class warfare that is now increasing the gulf
As a medical malpractice survivor and a lawyer, knowing that the civil justice system – RIGHT NOW – already weighs heavily in favor of protecting doctors from taking responsibility for their errors, my first impulse was to forego the courts and exact retribution against the doctors who hurt me, personally.
Medical malpractice is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. Over 100,000 people are killed every year from medical errors. And, this statistic does not include medical malpractice survivors, like me, left to live the rest of my life in intractable pain and debilitation.
If lawmakers see fit to FURTHER immunize doctors from responsibility for their errors, I foresee many medical malpractice victims (or their surviving spouses, children, etc.), exacting retribution against the negligent doctors, personally, and doctors would be well advised to take the money that they save on malpractice insurance premiums and invest it in bullet proof vests, body guards and upgraded security systems.
As one of the few attorneys who handle medical malpractice claims in my town, the first thing I’d say is that we don’t file frivolous medmal law suits! It simply costs too much.
I concur with the figure that about 98K (if not more) die each year from medical negligence in our nation’s hospitals; countless more suffer serious injury. However, the criteria for what constitutes medical malpractice as opposed to medical negligence, is extremely high — especially in a state like mine (Mississippi) where the Republican Governor got a strong tort reform bill (with caps) passed several years ago, making it all the harder to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit.
I’d say at this point only a small percentage of medical negligence case rise to the level of medical malpractice claims. I hear 5 to so horror stories every week about terrible and inexcusable medical negligence, but unfortunately feel we can take a minuscule few of these as legitimate medical malpractices we could win.
My blood boils when I hear people such as Senator Grassley blowing off about frivolous law suits. This is such a red herring simply to distract us from the real issue, meaningful health care reform.
Lester Clark, Hattiesburg, MS
I am very fortunate to be alive and not paralyzed. After contracting an infection in situ during back surgery my arrogant surgeon “knew” i was a nurse just after more percocets and refused—week after week— to address the excruciating pain i experienced post surgery. My family doctor proved totally helpless in any investigation of “a problem”—for instance, ordering an MRI—-too expensive.
Finally, a doctor i trusted knew this was an emergency—”why don’t they order an MRI?” she said.
She did and the films showed a massive infection right below the canal. I was sent immediately to Pa. Hospital and given 5 I.V. antibiotics to try to stop the infection. I stayed there a month!
I was down to 90 lbs. and was a pretty sick cookie.
The surgeon who picked up the pieces told me to “sue the______”. Which i did– unsuccessfully—of course. I hope you are happy to have gotten away with this, Steven Fedder at Lankenau Hospital, Wynnewood, Pa.
I’ve read that many doctors that should have their licenses revoked are protected by the AMA & transferred to other hospitals without any negative information in their files. They can continue harming other patients.
Kind of sounds like the Catholic Church with the priests that molested Alter Boys. They were just moved around to other parishes.
Also “malpractice insurance” is only 2% or less of the cost of health care. Bad doctors must not be allowed to continue to practice.
I’m really SICK of all the big $$ lobbyists & who they work for. It would be DIFFERENT if it was for the “better good” for all.
I guess I was lucky. My problem was with the doctors when California moved the majority of Medi-Cal patients to managed care. My PCP’s treated me HORRIBLE, never following through with the requests from the specialists I needed to see. The PCP’S wouldn’t sign ANY paperwork that I needed to continue on disability, in fact from the time I had managed care, I NEVER got treatment for what I ORIGINALLY went to the DR. for! The ONLY thing I got was 800 mg. Motrin 3-4 x a day for 5 years before I ended up needing emergency gall bladder surgery! I almost died!
I went through this for 6-7 yrs., saw about 14 DR.’s & had ONLY 1/2 hr. of physical therapy for my back! It was a paper chase & a “catch 22″. And since 1997 I have to live with chronic pain 24/7! In fact now I’m worse than when I first went to the DR.!
I was injured on a job site in Texas through no fault of my own in October 1984. The doctors I was able to see, (an Seventh Day Adventist no less), all lied to me so much that I lost confidence in my own senses and settled my WC claim.
It turns out that it was much worse, and that all the pain I was experiencing was real. I have now been unemployed, unemployable, disabled, and in extreme pain for over 24 years now.
How could I support a wife and children with NO income? Finally after all this time I receive SSI. But $700.00 per month still prevents me from supporting myself, much less a wife or children. This is not really living. It is only survival, mere existence.
Who are these a**holes who say I am in it only for the money? I have been hit by automobiles 3 times since and couldn’t find lawyer to take my case because of “previous injury”.
I think that the class warfare is being practiced by both the R’s and the D’s,and I am just a peon.
My representative and senators are both Texas Republicans. There is absolutely no possibility of getting them to accept reality.
Careless and reckless doctors must be held accountable. The good ones need to be protected.
there is a difference.
My mother was killed by the Dcotors in a hospital. She was given bad blood during an diabetic tranfusion during dyalisis and contracted Hepatitis B. None of her family were told. I spoke to her at the hospital at 9:00PM and at midnight 3 hours later i received a call that she was in an irrevervible coma and would never come out of it. Why were we not told of her condition and most importantly, why wasn’t she? She had to be taken off life support, when I was supposed to be picking her up at 9:00 Am the next day. We held her with no notice of her contagiousness. Her sister, a nurse, had loked at her records and found out what the dcotors had never told us. Even worse, when the funeral driector went to pick up her body, a close friend of the family, he called to tell me they would not release her as they ahd falsified the death certificate. This added to our grief tremendously, as we had seen her bleeding from her ears and still the doctors at the hosptial still said nothing to us. I FNALLY NAILED A DOCTOR AND HE TOLD ME THE TRUTH. TO THIS DAY I WISH WE HAD SUCED FOR INTENTIONAL DEATH, SO THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE, BUT WE WERE TOO EMOTIOANLLU DISTRAUGHT TO THINK STRAIGHT. A YAEAR LATER HER 6TH GRANDCHILD WAS BORN ON THE DAY SHE PASSED AND SHE WILL NEVER KNOW HER GRANDMOTHER BECAUSE OF THE LYING DEVASTATION OF THE DOCTORS. eVERY ONE OF THEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRD AND LOST THEIR MEDICAL LICENSES.
If everybody can’t have insurance, then there shouldn’t be any at all. It’s a racket that should be made criminal. As for so called frivolous lawsuits, many of those who call them that filed many frivolous lawsuits, making them abject hypocrites, but since many of them have their craniums up their rectal cavities, they can’t distinguish between frivolous and legitimate. They also require the surgery to install a viewing port in their abdomen.
I once overheard two teenagers, (I wasn’t trying, they were on the seat in front of me on the bus) and one of them simply stated, “don’t worry, the insurance will cover it.” Entire generations have grown up believing insurance is mana from heaven. Are they ever in for a let down!
I was hospitalized through the ER (with insurance) for nausea, vomiting and dehydration. During my 23 day hospital stay to correct a number of other issues my heart was attacked by a virus and I ended up with congestive heart failure. I did not bring that to the hospital with me – it was a “gift” from the hospital.
The best way to lower the number of or amount of malpractice suits – is to increase the quality of medical care available.
The hospital where I was moved patients every night in order to use the available beds in the most “productive” manner. I’m not kidding about this. Finally I just said “no” don’t move me.
My heart is working at a minimal capacity and I am permanently disabled. I was dangerously close to needing a heart transplant. Again I repeat – improve the quality of medical care available to all – but I add — make insurance and medical care available to everyone. I no longer have insurance.
Accidents leave us overwhelmed by mounting medical bills and long-term expenses. How do you secure long term financial security in the face of accumulating debt?
[...] Merlyna Adams, a school principal in Louisiana, who on account of a botched kidney stone extraction, subsequently [...]
[...] a school principal in Louisiana, who was shunted to four different hospitals and denied attention even after tests revealed an [...]