Across the country, patient access to quality medical care is being threatened by personal injury attorneys who are driving good doctors out of the practice of medicine or forcing them to cut back on "high risk" life-saving treatments.
Protect Patients Now is a nationwide grassroots campaign of concerned citizens and doctors dedicated to passing national medical liability reform that will end lawsuit abuse and make sure that the care you need will be there when you need it.
By the way, Nebraskans are not exempt from the crisis. Although our state has a statutory cap on total damages in medical liability actions, there are still a gang of loopholes. Juries here have thus been able to grant awards that are way beyond that supposed cap.
And the costs of malpractice insurance? Physicians in internal medicine, general surgery and obstetrics/ gynecology have had their insurance premiums rise 20% just between 2003 and 2004 while premiums for neurosurgeons increased 145% in 4 years!
The nationwide insurance carrier, the St. Paul Companies, recently withdrew from the market because of out-of-control lawsuits. SPC was the largest provider of liability insurance in Nebraska, and "some 2000 Nebraska doctors were left scrambling to find liability insurance when the company announced it would no longer provide coverage."
Something must be done quickly. And good-faith efforts have been made but they've been blocked time and again by Senators whose deep pockets have been filled by the trial lawyers.
Check out the 5 1/2 minute film from this page to get an effective overview of the problem. Then check out the action pages which allow you the best ways to communicate to your political representatives. The online petition is right here while information on contacting your Congressmen and Senators is over here. Okay? Let's move!
