Don't stop fighting for patient care

With the end of the state’s Legislative session coming up on June 5, several bills that would make it easier to file a malpractice lawsuit, or to revive a lawsuit that has been dismissed, remain on the House and Senate calendars. And while there is some reason to hope that neither will come to a vote, effectively killing them, it is important to remain vigilant about our message: more lawsuits against physicians in this state will make it harder for patients to get the care they need. In 2005, after much consideration, the General Assembly wisely approved malpractice reforms that have reduced nuisance lawsuits in Connecticut. But we’re still a litigious state, and it is still not uncommon for medical students to train here, but choose to practice in other states, where malpractice insurance is less expensive. In emergency departments and doctor’s offices across the state, patients deserve to get the best treatment possible, and that means training the best doctors and keeping them here in Connecticut. The legislature already defeated a bill that would have encouraged specialists to return to on-call service in hospital emergency departments, which is unfortunate. It is important for everyone in the state – not just doctors, but people who go to doctors, which is all of us – that these proposals that are still on the calendars, be defeated. Specifically, one, HB6687 would set a lower bar for the filing of a lawsuit. The other, SB1154, would allow any medical negligence claim that was dismissed, the opportunity to “refile,” a do-over, in effect, for lawyers. What’s at stake here is not a turf war between doctors and lawyers – it is the very real availability of doctors to do what they are trained to do: treat patients. We all saw the amazing response of first responders, doctors and health care professionals in the aftermath of the Marathon Bombing. Lives and limbs were saved every step of the way. Indeed, this is what we medical professionals train for. We simply ask that our policymakers allow us to do our jobs, not make it more difficult to do.