Legislation Pushing For Cap On Medical Malpractice Claims

Medical malpractice is an epidemic. Preventable medical errors kill more than 400,000 people per year. Despite this, federal lawmakers are quietly trying to push through legislation that will create a $250,000 federal cap on the amount a jury can award in a medical malpractice case. Virtually every state already has some form of medical malpractice reform, with more than 30 states having caps on damages.

Through this legislation, the federal government wants to take away the freedom of choice our Founders ensured would belong to the states and their citizens. The citizens have the freedom of choice as to systems of government and the law under which they prefer to live, but the federal government wants to take this freedom away. Essentially, laws like this will protect unsafe health care providers and limit your ability to hold them accountable for their preventable medical errors. The proposed legislation would violate the Arizona Constitution.

Many conservative organizations and their leaders oppose this legislation and have written to Congress urging it to reject “the ‘federalization’ of state tort law that is contrary to constitutional principles and represents an undue restriction on freedom.” You should too. Reach out to your Congressional representatives and senators and let them know you oppose any federal restriction on freedom.