Pete Sessions: “we are, indeed, losing physicians in the practice of medicine throughout America. Senator Durbin expressed concern in…”

“we are, indeed, losing physicians in the practice of medicine throughout America. Senator Durbin expressed concern in the conversations he has been having with doctors in his State, even though he opposes this bill. I traveled to Alabama this past week and visited five or six hospitals. I was at Fayette and Wedowee and Gadsden and Alexander City. As I traveled the State talking to doctors, to hospitals about their insurance premiums, it is a very real problem. This is not a new issue. We have been talking about it for a number of years. The reform of litigation of malpractice cases in California is the model for this legislation. It has worked very well in California. The people who are paying the premiums, people who are subjected to lawsuits, people who care about this every day, people who are giving up their practice every day as a result of abusive lawsuits, they support this legislation. Do they not know what this is all about? Do they not know what they are asking for? These are matters that are quite serious. I believe capping noneconomic damages has a good effect. When you look at a doctor who delivers a baby, is that doctor a guarantor of a healthy baby? They can't do that. They cannot be the guarantor that every birth they preside over will result in a healthy baby. They are responsible if they are negligent and that negligence causes damage to a child. There is no doubt about that. So that is what we need to focus on.”