Ramblings of an Emergency Physician in Texas
In my previous post, I mentioned, and linked to, an article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram about Governor Perry coming to our city to sign the bill into law (at least ceremoniously).
The article made me laugh, but for a different reason. The sidebars of the Star Telegram have rotating ads (reload their page to see them change), but here’s what I saw the very first time I pulled up the article!
If that doesn’t make you chuckle, you’re either dead, or a malpractice attorney.
Star Telegram | 06/11/2003 | Perry signs bill capping malpractice awards in Fort Worth ceremony
And he brought some good news:
The bill, passed by the Republican-controlled House and Senate in Austin, places a $250,000 maximum cap in malpractice lawsuits for “non-economic damages,” mainly for pain and suffering.Under the law, a single hospital or clinic would be subjected to a maximum $250,000 payout, and the cap would be a total of $500,000 if there were more than one medical institution involved.
Past judgments in medical malpractice lawsuits in Texas have at times totaled millions of dollars, which doctors say have caused the cost of their liablity insurance to increase at an unrealistic rate.
“This bill will keep doctors practicing medicine … (and) our hospitals and clinics will remain open,” Perry said before ceremoniously signing the bill in the lobby at Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital.
None of us really expect our malpractice to go down, we just really really want it not to keep going up exponentially.
