Odds are good that Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) will be a major player. He told The Epoch Times on April 28 that “ambulance chasers shouldn’t turn a pandemic into a payday.”
“Doctors and nurses around the country have enough to worry about fighting this virus, they shouldn’t have to worry about frivolous lawsuits. My bill would give our doctors and nurses some common-sense liability protections. They’ve got our backs; we ought to have theirs,” he said.
“A massive tangle of federal and state laws could easily mean their heroic efforts are met with years of endless lawsuits,” McConnell said, warning against what he called “the biggest trial lawyer bonanza in history.”
McConnell said that while some protections were included in previous recovery legislation, “the brave health care workers battling this virus, and the entrepreneurs who will reopen our economy, deserve strong protections from opportunistic lawsuits. ... We will need to expand and strengthen them.”
That means a proposal introduced by Sasse is likely to be the major focus of the legislative debate.
“This legislation gives emergency liability and patent protections to health care professionals who are innovating on the front lines. America is going to beat this virus. Congress needs to make sure that Phase Four legislation protects our doctors and nurses from a plague of lawsuits,” he said.
Democrats in Congress will oppose legislation such as the Sasse proposal as a direct threat to one of their most powerful and dependable special-interest supporters.
The percentage has barely changed in every election since 1990, and incumbent Democrats in Congress have always been the primary recipients.
“While most Americans support efforts to fight this pandemic, a minority of bad actors attempt to take advantage of it. Trial lawyers, who see profit in these challenging and vulnerable times, have begun soliciting for new plaintiffs and suing companies and insurers.”
- Using or modifying a medical device for an unapproved use or indication.
- Practicing without a license or outside of an area of specialty, if instructed to do so by an individual with such a license or within such an area of specialty.
- Conducting the testing of, or the provision of treatment to, a patient outside of the premises of standard health care facilities.
A 2018 study by researchers at Harvard University and Melbourne University estimated such “defensive medicine”—higher malpractice insurance fees and doctors ordering more tests as hedges against being sued—added nearly $47 billion annually to the cost of health care.
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