Political Quotes

“This amendment prohibits the introduction of apologies as evidence of liability, imposes on States the qualifications for expert witnesses in a healthcare lawsuit, requires plaintiffs to obtain a certificate of merit from a healthcare professional in order to pursue a healthcare lawsuit, and has a 90-day pre-suit notification requirement. This amendment is very, very difficult in that it says that, if you apologize, a doctor apologizes, the hope is that the doctor can apologize and the patient may think: Oh, he apologized. That is nice. I won't sue him. But then if you decide to sue him or her, you can't put that apology in evidence against him. So it is kind of maybe crocodile tears, a crocodile apology. But it also requires a plaintiff to get a certificate of merit from a healthcare professional to pursue a healthcare lawsuit--not from a lawyer, but from a healthcare professional. You have got to go to the fraternity to sue a fellow fraternity brother. That is a strange one. This amendment would add numerous problematic provisions that significantly expand this bill beyond what was even discussed in the Judiciary Committee and in Rules, and it violates State sovereignty, all without any proper legislative vetting before coming to the floor. This is the first I have seen it or I think anybody has seen this proposal--not necessarily regular order. Its apology provision is overly broad and undermines the legal right of patients.…”