THE GOOCH FIRM

Utah Senate Bill 145, much like any bill when viewed in its entirety, is filled with amended regulations cited codes intended to line the pockets of those who already control the purse strings of our society.  Utah Senate Bill 145 is no different.  In filtering through the verbose legal jargon, there are several key components that will have a devastating blow to both victims and medical malpractice attorneys alike.  Specifically, Utah Senate Bill 145 seeks to impose a non-economic cap of $ 250,000.  A non-economic damage cap is defined as a tort reform to limit damage compensation for intangible harms such as severe pain, physical and emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of the enjoyment of life that an injury has caused, and loss of a loved one.  To this I retort, when does a victim stop having to be a victim?  Certainly, there is no compensation for intangible harms such as sever pain, physical and emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of the enjoyment of line, especially the loss of a loved one.  However to cap this damage at $250,000.00 is simply unjust. 

Supporters of this bill want you to believe that medical malpractice attorneys are responsible for the rise in health care costs.  This is not true, in fact according to bi-partisan Congressional Budget Office report, malpractice lawsuits account for less than 2% of healthcare costs.  The primary reason for rising malpractice premiums rests with the insurance industry. The cyclical nature, lack of competition, mismanagement of reserves and a decline in investment income are factors capable of having a greater impact than capping non-economic damages (Weiss Report, 2003). Apart from that fact, medical malpractice actions are extremely necessary to keep the quality of American’s healthcare in check, and to ensure that injuries suffered by medical malpractice victims are not repeated.

 Utah Senate Bill 145 is meant to protect those who do no need protection, i.e. big insurance companies, and discriminating against those who do need protection, the victims of medical malpractice.  A non-economic cap supports the notion that billion dollar insurance companies do not have to adequately compensation others for their actions or negligence.   Often times victim’s lives are permanently and severely changed forever.  Legislators needs to make the recognition that victims can never be compensated for their past, present, and future suffering’ however, monetary means are the best thing we can do to ease their suffering and discontinue the victim cycle.  We must ask ourselves can we really put a limit on victim’s compensation?  Cases should be evaluated on an individual basis, not an over-generalized cap.   

 In support of our belief, The Gooch Firm, P.C. has supported a lobbyist to campaign against Utah Senate Bill 145.  It is our hope that The Gooch Firm, P.C.’s continued efforts will ease both our clients’, and other injured victims’, suffering and help them seek justice.

 

Interested in Local Politics?  Here is a link to keep your-self informed.

http://le.utah.gov/