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New Pennsylvania Court Data Shows Rick Santorum Misleading the Public
About Medical Malpractice Bill
Bill Santorum Supports is Giveaway to Insurance Industry
(Thursday, April 27, 2006 -Washington DC)—The Administrative
Office of Pennsylvania Courts released new information on Tuesday
that shows yet again that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) is misleading
voters about the need for malpractice legislation. The bill Santorum
supports will actually reward his insurance industry contributors
at the expense of public health and victims of medical negligence.
“He is misleading the public because he can’t explain why
he is putting the profits of the insurance companies that have bankrolled
his campaign ahead of the victims of medical negligence,” said
Ken Suggs, President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America
(ATLA).
Santorum has taken $401,491 from the insurance industry,[1] and,
in the 2006 election cycle is the number one recipient of money from
hospitals and nursing homes that would be protected by the federal
malpractice bill, taking $136,512.[2]
To help those special interest contributors, Santorum has repeatedly
played fast and loose with facts, claiming that malpractice lawsuits
are driving up health care costs. In fact, the court data released
this week shows a sustained decline in medical malpractice lawsuits
filed in Pennsylvania – down 37.8% from base years 2000-2002.
Additionally, last year Pennsylvania had the fewest number of jury
verdicts and the fewest number of verdicts exceeding $1 million since
data has been collected.
As recently as last week, in Berks County, Pennsylvania[3], Santorum
played fast and loose with the facts in a speech blaming victims for
rising health care costs. Ironically, according to data[4] released
by the courts yesterday, Berks County saw a 65.8 percent decline in
the number of malpractice filings between 2000 and 2005.
Santorum has also consistently misled the public about the impact
of malpractice lawsuits on doctor availability, maintaining malpractice
suits are forcing doctors to flee the state. The number of physicians
in Pennsylvania, in reality, has steadily increased. According to
the American Medical Association, the number of doctors in Pennsylvania
has increased every year for the past nine years for which data is
available.[5]
In addition to being deceptive, Santorum is a hypocrite. Santorum
testified in his wife’s behalf as part of a $500,000 lawsuit
filed in 1999 (seeking non-economic damages) against a chiropractor
whose care left her with permanent back pain and permanent numbness
in one leg. The suit included requests for non-economic damages. In
comparison, the medical malpractice bill he vowed to “go to war”
over would arbitrarily limit compensation for complete paralysis,
loss of a limb, permanent brain damage or even wrongful death to $250,000,
regardless of circumstance and even in cases of gross negligence.
In an Oct. 1, 2000 interview with the Associated Press, Santorum
said a $250,000 cap was “way too low” to fairly compensate
victims (and, of course, was lower than what he sought in his wife’s
case) yet he has consistently supported legislation since then that
would establish a $250,000 cap.
“Even for Washington, Rick Santorum’s hypocrisy on this
issue is bold, shameful and disgusting.” said Suggs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Insurance Industry Contributions 2001-2006, Center for Responsive
Politics, Accessed: 4/17/06
[2] Center for Responsive Politics, http://opensecrets.org/industries/recips.asp?cycle=2006&ind=H04
[3] “Santorum Vows to Keep Doctors in PA,” WFMZ.com, http://wfmz.com/cgi-bin/tt.cgi?action=viewstory&storyid=15175
[4] Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts data, http://www.courts.state.pa.us/Index/MedicalMalpractice/2005StatewideFilings.pdf
[5] Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S., Various
Editions, American Medical Association, Years 1996-2004
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As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA
promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional
right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through
education and disclosure of information critical to public health
and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, ATLA provides lawyers with
the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients
successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice
system.
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