Colorado: Hitchin a Ride on the Justice Train

I was just in Colorado this past summer for a wedding and had an amazing time.  Besides being one of the most visually stunning states I have ever visited, Colorado also has a laid back, outdoorsy culture that is incredible.  But enough of me gushing over Colorado's many merits.

Actually, I take that back.  In addition to all the great things about Colorado, add one more top-notch quality to the list.  Colorado just may become more just (and by just I mean justice).  That's right, Colorado is working on making civil justice more just for patients injured by medical malpractice.  Cool.

A bill was voted out of a committee on Monday to increase the “cap,” or limit, on a patient’s ability to be compensated for injuries that destroy their quality of life (“non-economic damages”) and would allow patients with disfigurement or impairment to get around this cap.

(The full news articles are here and here)

Colorado is also one of very few states that limits compensation for economic damages for patients, like medical costs.  Even for children. Wish they’d lift that cap too because that one is really cruel.  But we’re happy things are moving in the right direction.  Keep on keepin on, Colorado!

Comments

[ProResponsibility]

When will people start taking responsibility and get away from the expectation of the gravy train stopping by every time they scrape their finger?

There are certainly cases where egregious things happen, but that doesn't require an unlimited compensation model to punish.

I appreciate the commentary and think it is well written, but one should also write about personal responsibility to make decisions.

The Other Side

[John Guyette]

ProResponsibility,

Unfortunately, simply blurting something out that sounds good does not make it true. Your comments don't seem to come from fact world.

At CJ&D we believe in facts so here are some you may want to consider:

According to Rand, funded in part by insurance companies, only 2 percent
of seriously injured Americans ever file a lawsuit. In medical malpractice cases, eight times as many patients are injured as ever file a claim; 16 times as many suffer injuries as receive any compensation. (Check out this fact sheet
http://www.centerjd.org/MB_2007civil.htm ). Hardly evident of a "gravy train".

As far as objecting to a so-called “unlimited compensation model to punish,” ProResponsibility must not understand that compensation is meant to compensate, not punish. The public does not believe that a
child who suffers a brain injury should be treated like a senior citizen abused in a nursing home, or as a dad who is blinded or as a mother who loses a child. Where there is gross negligence, the public believes juries can decide compensation in such cases better than a politician.

The impact of legislation to limit compensation would be catastrophic
for many families, causing untold suffering, economic devastation, and
for some, the destruction of family life. In some cases, taxpayers will have to pay for what wrongdoers, who escape their accountability under such proposals, have caused.

And if we're talking about taking responsibility, it’s corporations and
other wrongdoers who would escape responsibility for their misconduct with
laws that make it more difficult for the sick and injured to get into
court.

I thought conservatives believed in responsibility (Check out this conservative group in Texas http://www.txir.org/About_Us.html ), lower taxes and less government spending, family values, protecting children, law and order, and less government regulation?