Government
D.C. City Council contemplates liability reform
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 12, 2004
The Washington, D.C., City Council is considering a bill that would, among other things, cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000, expand the Good Samaritan law to physicians and others who provide free care, and limit attorney contingency fees.
Doctors see the bill as a way to improve the medical liability insurance climate that has caused physicians to give up their practices or to stop performing risky procedures.
"We are headed down a very dark path where access most assuredly will become an issue," Medical Society of the District of Columbia President Peter E. Lavine, MD, said in a statement.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/07/12/gvbf0712.htm.
