Protect Your Constitutional Rights By Stopping the H.R. 1215 Bill

H.R. 1215 is referred to as the “Protecting Access to Care Act,” however, it is a blatant attempt to eliminate your constitutional rights. The bill preempts state medical malpractice law and products liability laws by overturning the decisions of state legislatures and state courts. H.R. 1215 would cap non-economic damages, meaning that the absolute most a victim of hospital negligence or medical malpractice could receive would be $250,000 no matter how severe their injuries.

According to the American Association for Justice (AAJ), “By imposing a strict federal regime that caps damages in any “health care lawsuit,” HR 1215 directly overturns the decisions of locally-elected officials not to cap damages for victims of medical negligence, nursing home abuse, or defective medical products.” Therefore, this bill is unconstitutional and violates the 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which leaves these decisions to the states.

Worse, because Kentucky is one of five states that prohibits caps on damages this bill would completely override that law forcing injured victims to only receive $250,000 maximum rather than the decision being left up to judges and juries. H.R. 1215 favors large corporations over the rights of individuals. As stated by AAJ, “…H.R. 1215 imposes a Washington-knows-best approach and only preserves state laws which provide a greater benefit to the wrongdoers, regardless of what a state has decided works best.”

The victims of medical malpractice cases deserve justice from wrongdoing.  Instead, this bill would let the corporations and insurance companies off easy at the expense of victims and tax payers.  In many cases, because wrongdoers won’t be held responsible for paying the medical costs of their conduct, those costs will fall to tax payers. Contact your local congressman in order to stop this bill from becoming a law.