Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - December 28, 2004
"I-330 makes false promises to a healthcare system in crisis," said Dylan Malone, spokesperson for Citizens for Better Safer Healthcare. "I-330 takes away patients' rights, grants sweeping immunity to bad doctors and shifts medical malpractice costs to the taxpayer."
"The only way to reform the medical malpractice liability system is to demand greater accountability from the insurance industry, the healthcare system and the courts," said Bill Monto, spokesperson for the No on I-330 campaign.
Monto also stated that I-330 shields bad doctors, drug companies, medical device manufacturers, HMOs and insurance companies, negligent nursing homes and hospitals from accountability to patients and their families. In addition to capping damages, provisions in I-330 require that people sign away their rights before receiving any medical services.
"Caps on damages unfairly hurt those malpractice victims with the most serious injuries and do nothing to reduce insurance premiums or keep coverage accessible for doctors, but I-330 goes even beyond caps," said Monto. I-330 also imposes a restrictive statute of limitations that cuts off legitimate claims on injuries with long incubation periods.
"This means, for example, that if a patient is infected with HIV from tainted blood and does not present symptoms within five years -- which is often the case -- he or she would not be able to seek a remedy from those that caused the infection in the first place," said Monto.
"I-330 is a dangerous initiative that exploits the negative rhetoric around lawsuits and medical costs, protects wrongdoers from responsibility and threatens the rights and safety of victims that trial attorneys seek to protect every single day of our lives," said Rodney Ray, president of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
CONTACT
Bill Monto, No on I-330 Campaign
206-409-7078
http://www.no330.org
SOURCE No on I-330 Campaign
Web Site: http://www.no330.org
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