Medical negligence is a real issue, affecting real Coloradans. I am a victim of medical negligence and I understand, firsthand, the emotional and financial burdens that are associated with this issue.

As a result of improper procedures during anesthesia while undergoing a low-back surgery, I lost my vision. Because I am older and have a short work life expectancy, I have relatively little in the way of economic or wage losses. Most of my losses would be categorized as non-economic, such as loss of enjoyment of life and permanent impairment.

There is a bill in the Senate that will merely allow those harmed in the future by medical negligence an inflation related increase to the non-economic maximum damage amount. The bill will also permit individuals harmed by medical negligence to claim the same categories of damage that those injured by other negligence can obtain. However, this bill would not change the combined dollar limitation on all categories of damages currently imposed in medical negligence cases. In other words, the law would allow fair but limited compensation for medical negligence.

I am surprised and ashamed by the outcry of those with vested interests against SB 164. The bill is about treating people whose lives have been forever changed with fairness and respect. I support this legislation, and I urge our elected officials and the general public to do the same. It is the honorable course of action to take on behalf of those injured by medical negligence through no fault of their own.

PHILLIP GARRIGAN
Montrose

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.