Personal Injury Law

Illinois Medical Malpractice Watch: Dangerous Tort Reform Bill Advances in Congress

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

We have recently paid close attention to the status of a tort reform bill introduced last month in Congress known as H.R. 5. The legislation represents a dangerous combination of legal changes that would severely curtail the rights of innocent victims of negligence. The misconceptions and falsehoods used to promote this unnecessary legislation has been frequently debunked on this blog over the past few months.

The bill is particularly troubling because of its large scope?it applies to medical malpractice claims, nursing home claims, and wrongful death lawsuits. It includes arbitrary caps on non-economic damages, and shortens the statute of limitations on many acts of negligence. It also eliminates joint and several liability and raises pleading standards.

These changes would essentially make it harder for victims to win cases and, even once they?ve been won, harder to collect the entire damage award reached by the jury. Many of these changes preempt state law, meaning that the federal government would be overriding the will of many states, forcing these unfair rules upon them.

Unfortunately, the American Association for Justice reported this weekend that H.R. 5 recently passed its first legislative hurdle after being approved by the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation will next be considered by the entire House of Representatives as early as next month.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on February 21, 2011 (boomark / email).