FRIST NOT EXPECTED TO GET 60 VOTES ON MEDMAL CLOTURE VOTE.Despite his attempts to persuade senators to vote for a medical malpractice Improper, unskilled, or negligent treatment of a patient by a physician, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, or other health care professional. bill limited to capping damage awards to providers of obstetrical obstetrical, obstetricpertaining to or emanating from obstetrics. obstetrical anesthesia an anesthetic procedure designed especially for patients undergoing cesarean operation or intrauterine manipulation of the fetus. and gynecological gynecological /gy·ne·co·log·i·cal/ (-kah-loj´i-k'l) gynecologic. services rather than all medical specialties Medical Specialties See also anatomy; disease and illness; drugs; health; remedies; surgery. adenography the science of the description of glands. — adenographic, adj. , Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is not expected to get the 60 votes he needs Feb. 24 to cut off debate on the "Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies Access to Care Act of 2003." Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) said Feb. 20 that Democrats are holding steady. Frist scheduled the debate to begin at noon Feb. 23, when the Senate returns from its Presidents Day recess, and the cloture The procedure by which debate is formally ended in a meeting or legislature so that a vote may be taken. Cloture is a means of terminating a filibuster, which is a prolonged speech on the floor of the Senate designed to forestall legislative action. vote to take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 24. Senators were caught by surprise just before leaving on the recess when Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced the more limited ob-gyn medical malpractice bill, S. 2061. Jim Manley, the chief staff person on the Senate HELP committee for the committee's ranking member, Sen. Edward Kennedy D-MA), told Liability & Insurance Week, "the Democrats see this as a partisan bill and are not going to vote for it." The bill would limit non-economic damages to $250,000 and would allow punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. "only if it is proven by clear and convincing evidence clear and convincing evidence n. evidence that proves a matter by the "preponderance of evidence" required in civil cases and beyond the "reasonable doubt" needed to convict in a criminal case. (See: beyond a reasonable doubt) that such person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant, or that such person deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury that such person knew the claimant was substantially certain to suffer" and if punitive damages are available under applicable state or federal law. They could not exceed an amount equal to two times the amount of economic damages awarded or $250,000, whichever is greater. A more comprehensive medical malpractice bill was blocked last July when Frist was only able to muster 49 votes to close debate. Two Republicans voted against cutting off debate on that bill: Sens. Richard Shelby (AL) and Lindsey Graham (SC). Independent Sen. James Jeffords (VT) also voted against cutting off debate, as did all 45 Democrats who were present. Three Democrats missed the vote: Bob Graham (FL), John Kerry (MA) and Zell Miller (GA). |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion