Senate Bill (SB) 164 was sponsored by Senate President Peter Groff (D-Denver) and Assistant Majority Leader Terrance Carroll (D-Denver). It would increase the current cap on non-economic damages caused by medical negligence from $300,000 to $366,250, mirroring the cap on negligence claims that do not arise from medical negligence. Originally enacted under the Health Care Availability Act in 1988, caps on medical negligence have not been adjusted for inflation and have remained unchanged since 2003.
Currently there is a total cap of $1,000,000 on medical negligence/malpractice cases. Under SB 164, this cap would remain in place. Also under the current law, a judge can allow a larger damage award in extraordinary cases. Current law categorizes physical impairment and disfigurement as noneconomic damages, which are limited by the current cap. However, the bill will re-categorize them as economic damages. Noneconomic damages are traditionally non-quantifiable injuries such as pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium (love of a spouse).
SB 164 does not make any drastic changes, and the modest changes it does make will ensure that medical negligence victims are compensated fairly. Even so, special interests, lead by the insurance companies, have mounted a concerted effort to prevent this bill from becoming law. They claim that these small changes will somehow cause medical malpractice insurance rates to “skyrocket” and cause doctors to practice what they refer to as “defensive medicine” by performing more tests.
If more tests will prevent an innocent patient from loosing an arm, a leg, or the ability to see, then more doctors should be practicing defensive medicine. The underlying premise of our tort system is that a person injured due to another’s intentional act or negligence should be made whole. It only makes sense that the negligent party should be the one to foot the bill.
The special interest groups have portrayed victims of medical negligence as greedy opportunists seeking to capitalize off of their injury. Victims of medical negligence are people who have suffered injury through no fault of their own. They are people with injuries who deserve compensation. Although mere dollars cannot adequately compensate one for the loss of a limb or the death of a loved one, that is the only remedy the law allows.
The bill is currently on hold in the Colorado House of Representatives. After a contentious hearing on Wednesday March 18, the House Judiciary Committee decided to delay the vote to get more input from the public. Rep. Cheri Jahn (D-Wheat Ridge) may try to amend the bill to make it more acceptable to opponents.
Thank you for reading our blog. Personal injury suffered due to medical malpractice can be devastating. If you or a loved one have suffered a serious injury or death due to medical malpractice, contact us for a confidential consultation. If you have a question or comment, please reply to this blog or send us an e-mail.
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Medical or clinical negligence is a complex and highly specialised area of the law as it involves the issue of professional negligence and has legal principles and rules of procedure which differ from those covering other personal injury claims. In order to bring a claim for medical negligence you must prove, through the evidence of medical experts qualified in the specialty concerned, that, it was more probable than not: that there were serious errors in your medical treatment which no competent doctor would have made; and that those errors caused, or contributed to, the injury you are complaining about. It is therefore crucial that claimants get help from specialist medical negligence solicitors who have experience in the field. Visit Medical negligence claims for more information.
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