Personal Injury Law

Illinois Senator Fights for Medical Malpractice Victims

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Recently Illinois Senator Dick Durbin gave a speech on the senate floor in defense of medical malpractice victims. He reminded the Senate that medical malpractice claims and lawsuit payouts are decreasing in America. Only one percent of doctors are being charged with medical malpractice and paying each year. In addition only two to three percent of medical negligence incidents actually lead to malpractice claims. Senator Durbin also cited a study that found that a 10-percent reduction in costs related to medical malpractice liability would increase the nation?s overall death rate by .2 percent. That amounts to 4,853 more American deaths per year. He asked Congress if they were willing to use so many lives to medical mistake in order to save some money. He focused on the fact that 98,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors. In monetary terms, these medical mistakes cost an extra $9.3 billion a year. Durbin spoke candidly that medical malpractice insurance companies are making more and more money each year, yet complaining that malpractice is the reason for high health care costs. He suggested reducing the cost of medical malpractice insurance and most importantly reducing medical errors. The medical malpractice attorneys of Levin & Perconti applaud Senator Durbin?s efforts to protect patient?s rights. Please visit the CSPAN-2 website in order to view the speech.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on December 03, 2009 (boomark / email).