On Wednesday evening, the House passed the medical malpractice legislation (HR 1215) that AAOMS has vigorously advocated. The near party-line vote was 218-210 with 6 members not voting.

One amendment was agreed to during the floor debate and was included in the bill. It does the following:

Allows a physician to apologize to a patient for an unintended outcome without having the apology count against them in the court of law.
Requires a plaintiff to provide a notice of intent to the physician 90 days before the lawsuit is filed.
Defers to sundry state laws regarding lawsuits and outlines requirements witnesses must meet for testimony during trial.

One amendment failed that would have given affirmative defense to defendants in health care liability cases if they can show they complied with clinical practice guidelines.

It will be an uphill battle in the Senate so our work is not done. We must support AAOMS’ legislative efforts.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please click on this link to send a letter to your Senators:

Grassroots campaign aimed at the Senate.

Simply fill in your name and demographic information and the system will develop a letter to go to your Senators from you. Freely edit the letter or send as is.

Thanks for your help!

Hal E. Jones, DDS
President