Arizona Malpractice Lawsuits Against Emergency Doctors Limited
Published: July 15th, 2009 • Comments: 2
A bill signed into law this week by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will make it more difficult for Arizona medical malpractice lawsuits to succeed against emergency room doctors.
The new law raises the burden of proof in Arizona lawsuits over emergency room malpractice, requiring plaintiffs to provide “clear and convincing” evidence of a medical mistakes. The new law will go into effect on September 30 of this year.
Supporters of the bill said that the existing laws worked as a deterrent for the states’ doctors to work in emergency rooms, and believe the new law will bring more doctors to Arizona. Critics of the bill said the new law would deprive plaintiffs of their right to recover damages through legitimate medical malpractice lawsuits.
A similar law was vetoed by former Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2006. Napolitano, a Democrat, was picked by President Barack Obama to become the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Brewer, a Republican, was Secretary of State for Arizona and replaced her. In 2007, the Arizona House of Representatives narrowly rejected a similar version of the bill.
A 1986 federal law requires all hospitals participating in the Medicare program to treat patients seeking emergency care. Advocates of the new Arizona law say that Arizona hospitals have been experiencing a shortage of doctors willing to work in emergency rooms, due to fear of malpractice lawsuits. Hospitals in the state say emergency room doctors are particularly vulnerable to lawsuits because they have little or no time to learn the patient’s medical history, increasing the odds of a medical mistake.
Comment by Steve on 10 August 2009:
As a physician I applaud this legislation. Frivilous lawsuits are creating medical costs that are skyrocketing. The repercussions of medical lawsuits affect doctors, hospitals, biomedical companies, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, etc, etc. The average American fails to realize that this is one of the primary reasons health-care costs are rising so fast.
Health-care reform must include cost-containment in hospitals, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, doctor’s salaries, AND medical malpractice claims. Unfortunately, President Obama as a lawyer fails to admit this and, therefore, will fail in his attempt to procure reform.
Comment by ester on 21 August 2009:
I cannot disagree more with the doctor, I complained about my son’s abnormal vomiting and weakness and doctor for 5 MONTHS told me was just his bad allergies so now we found out he had bad acid reflux that in turn cause a severe erosion esophagitis and now he ll need surgery or will become cancer, THAT’S A GREAT DOCTOR !!!! who pays for my son agony and daily pain? Wake up , those kind of doctors deserve a law suit, and they will receive one from me.