Angie Craig: “first, I am here to speak on S. 2061 and ask our colleagues to support it. Many of my colleagues have already spoken of…”

“first, I am here to speak on S. 2061 and ask our colleagues to support it. Many of my colleagues have already spoken of the pressing need for this legislation, so I will not repeat their words now. What I will speak about is how the medical liability crisis has played out in my region of the country, the Pacific Northwest. I believe the situation as it exists there provides clear evidence of the need for national reform. My story is the tale of two States, my home State of Idaho and our neighbor to the west, Oregon. Idaho enacted its original tort reform legislation in 1987. This legislation limited the award of noneconomic damages in personal injury cases to $400,000. This limit was indexed to inflation. Oregon also enacted tort reform legislation in 1987. Like the Idaho law, the Oregon law limited the award of noneconomic damages in personal injury cases. Oregon's law placed this limit at $500,000. Unlike Idaho however, where the tort reform measure withstood judicial scrutiny, and has since been strengthened by the Idaho State Legislature in 2003, Oregon's law was struck down by the State supreme court in 1999. Since the cap was removed, there have been 20 settlements and jury awards of more than $1 million. As expected, the costs of these awards have been passed on to medical professionals in the form of higher medical malpractice insurance premiums.”