“Republicans stand accused of legislative malpractice.  No matter what President Bush or Republicans say, H.R. 5 is a sham and an insurance profit protection bill.  It will penalize victims, will not lower health care costs for patients or insurance rates for doctors, and will fail to go after the 5% of doctors responsible for 54% of medical malpractice,” said Schakowsky, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.  

Prior to the vote today in the House, Schakowsky implored her colleagues to reject H.R. 5.  Schakowsky read from two letters she received from constituents who suffered greatly as a result of medical malpractice.   

The first letter was written by a grieving father who described how his son died in the recovery room following surgery to adjust his bite.  In great detail, he wrote how his son was unable to breathe when his breathing tube dislodged and “there were no wire cutters to open his mouth to allow him to receive oxygen… He suffered an agonizing and painful death.”

Schakowsky continued, reading from a second letter about an outpatient surgery gone horribly wrong.  “During the surgery,” the victim wrote, “ the oxygen ignited…While the surgery continued my entire face was burned.”  The victim continued, “For these past three years I have been in a mask covering my face and I have nasal tubes to stint open my nose for 23 hours a day.  With my mask on I can only drink through a straw.  My breathing was entirely cut off for almost two years… I have been through 8 surgeries and have 2-4 more pending… Legislation to cap damages fundamentally punishes – again – the victims of these horrendous medical mistakes.”

President Bush, who complained that the legal system looks more and more like a lottery system, has publicly called for caps on non-economic damages.  H.R. 5 sets the cap at $250,000.

“Victims of medical malpractice are not lottery winners.  They did not hit the jackpot.  They deserve better,” Schakowsky concluded.