The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had this little tidbit at the end of its article on the death of Rep. John Murtha (emphasis mine): "Mr. Murtha was first hospitalized with gallbladder problems in December. He had surgery Jan. 28 at the National Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md. He went home, but was hospitalized two days later when complications developed. According to a source close to Mr. Murtha -- confirming a report in Politico -- doctors inadvertently cut Mr. Murtha's intestine during the laparoscopic surgery, causing an infection."
Hmmmm...well, I guess it's a good thing Mr. Murtha died before the GOP could institute its' bogus "tort reform" scheme. After all, according to Republicans, doctors NEVER make mistakes and anyone who sues a doctor for negligence or error is just some tool of the trial lawyer lobby. But let this be a lesson. If it could happen to a high ranking member of Congress with top-notch doctors, it could definitely happen to you as well. It is rare, but once the GOP removes your ability to sue and recover damages, it will increase exponentially.
Hmmmm...well, I guess it's a good thing Mr. Murtha died before the GOP could institute its' bogus "tort reform" scheme. After all, according to Republicans, doctors NEVER make mistakes and anyone who sues a doctor for negligence or error is just some tool of the trial lawyer lobby. But let this be a lesson. If it could happen to a high ranking member of Congress with top-notch doctors, it could definitely happen to you as well. It is rare, but once the GOP removes your ability to sue and recover damages, it will increase exponentially.
15 comments:
I think the intent of tort reform is to prevent unwarranted and frivolous lawsuits when no gross negligence or malpractice was present.
Those doctors are in the Navy, and as federal employees have governmental quantified immunity and cannot be sued. You can only sue the federal government for violations of civil rights, not any form of malpractice.
Reason number 10,993,838 a national health service is a bad idea. I'm supportive of tort reform to stop frivilous law suits... but not all lawsuits are frivilous either.
As for Murtha, probably some Navy doc worked with the Marines remembered the "Cold blooded killer." inncident and got even.
Frivolous is in the eye of the beholder and that is why making an arbitrary cap on damages and making it exponentially more difficult to sue for malpractice is a horrible idea. Tort reform benefits shitty doctors and hospitals. Non-negligent doctors and hospitals have nothing to worry about.
Free, you might want to tone down your Timothy McVeigh-esque murder fantasies. The facts on Murtha's longtime devotion to the military are well known. He served admirably in Korea and Vietnam (far more than Dick "5 deferments" Cheney), and was the first ever Vietnam Vet elected to Congress.
The Bush years are over, let it go. You don't have to keep hating Joe Wilson, Jack Murtha, Dick Clark, and the rest of the people who were right about Iraq: we never should have gone there.
Frivolous is in the eye of the beholder
Actually there is a pretty rigorous test of law. However it costs 10,000 dollars for a defendant no matter how frivolous the suit to litigate to summery disposition so the malpractice insurnace offers 5k to make the plaintiff go away to save the other 5k and passes that loss onto thier customers in premiums which they then pass on to you or your insurance company (who passes it on to you).
Hence part of why insurance premiums have risen 30 something percent.
The facts on Murtha's longtime devotion to the military are well known
He betrayed the military. I hope he rotts in hell. He won't be arround to make us use sub standard body armor so his constituants can get a fat government check or call us murderers without any sort of evidence so he can be speaker of the house anymore. No one on earth was more toxic to the military. I'd rather have Cindy Sheehan than John Murtha. I don't think the Navy killed him, I just wish they did. Especially since you can't sue them for it. Fuck his service. I wish he died in Vietnam. Then there would be something worth remembering. They should have fragged his ass there.
"passes that loss onto thier customers in premiums which they then pass on to you or your insurance company (who passes it on to you)"
Perfect reason why there should be some competition for the private insurance industry. They pass on everything to the consumer, and the consumer gets fucked every time. That's what monopolies do.
As for your ridiculous comments on Murtha...ummmm....Bush was the Commander in Chief during Iraq. To blame one lone congressman for lack of supplies or whatever is stupid. He wasn't even the chairman of his committee most of that time since the Republicans had the majority until January 2007. Nice try. Blame the Defense Dept or the President. Oh wait, they are Republicans, so that's off the table.
Perfect reason why there should be some competition for the private insurance industry
Since when did the government ever do compitition?
as for your ignorant attempt to "blame bush"
Murtha voted to attack Iraq and George Bush wasn't chairman of the House Armed Services Commity like Murtha, the President doesn't make apropriations decisions, Murtha and his commity do. The President doesn't approve the DOD budget, congress does. The President has zero, zip, nada imput as to what goes on that budget. And as for the body armor thing, that's happened since Obama was President you shmuck.
I shouldn't have to be teaching you about 10th grade civics class level government. I guess you smoked pot and fell asleep for that one. That shit rots your brain, stop smoking. And it isn't lack of supplies, it sub standard supplies- lots of them. Cheap crap equipment made in Murtha's district or made by one of his campaign contributors. There are REAMS of evidence for that one. Murtha was nothing less than a war profiteer shilling for his district forcing on the military garbadge like bad up-armor kits or contractors paid that never even delivered the equipment and then when it was politically expedient and the wind changed he dumped his "fellow" Marines and the soldiers he sent to war... for political points... so he could get to be House Speaker. Even the Democrats were disgusted by it and picked Peloci instead.
Whatever you say on Murtha won't change my opinion of him anyway. When he came out in Nov 2005 and said, "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction. Our military is suffering. The future of our country is at risk. We can not continue on the present course," the media finally took seriously what war critics had been saying for many years prior. The Bush Administration (especially Donald Rumsfeld) were incompetent in Iraq. Prior to Murtha's comments, people who were critical were considered fringe "lefties." He helped a lot in the mainstreaming of opposition to Bush's war. For that, the country owes him a debt.
Yeah, we owe him a debt as a country all right. I'd say thanks to his help we owe damned close to $74 Trillion dollars of debt.
From 2006 on he was the chairman you dolt. He also voted to invade Iraq in 2002, read an opinion poll in 2004 and changed his mind. Wow, consumate statesman there.
And you forgot the part where he said we in the military were cold blooded killers attacking random women and children. Gee, wonder why I would be a tad offended at that.
They were blatant lies when he told them but heck... like you care? The only thing the military was suffering form was John Murtha.
And besides, once Rachel Maddow makes up your mind for you there's no changing it.
He became the chairman January 2007, dummy. Not 2006. Does that dyslexia affect numbers too? Is that why you can't tell the difference between a majority or minority?
Free, you can have your alternate reality on your site. At the darkstuff.com, you are an unwelcome asshole who doesn't know what the fuck he is talking about.
What is World Net Daily? I actually don't know. As for Malkin, she's to Christian Conservaitve for me but yeah, I check out her blog about once a month. But keep hurling the insults there pal, always a good sign I'm right. I love the ire of the left.
As for children, I've fed, protected, and saved the lives of thousands of them. I've pulled kids out of burning buildings in Iraq, allowed little girls to go to school in Afghanistan and saved them from horrible disease and hunger in Africa.
What have you done for the kids of the world lately?
Baned? Haha, WIN.
"Baned?" I'm not sure what you mean. I don't speak idiot. But if you're referring to comment moderation, what is so wrong about that. Red State, Malkin, HuffPo, DailyKos, and nearly every site has some form of it. Now I do. Whine if you want.
As for World Net Daily, I know you read that site. Your feigned ignorance of it is laughable. What's next, never heard of Limbaugh? Oh, yeah, you were a "Limbaugh baby" who never listens to him. Got it.
The more you deny you parrot Limbaugh and Malkin, the more you get angrier and angrier every time you post one of your 10 responses to every posting on here, the more you show a fundamental non-understanding of how government actually works (thinking John Murtha single-handedly started the Iraq War, approved all of its funding, and personally made every single procurement decision is among the stupidest things I've ever read...and I've read a lot of your comments), the more I know that I am right about you.
On March 18, 2008, Dr. Roderick A. Stevenson, Williamsport, Pa., did lap surgery on my husband. The object was to go in and look around with a camera and see if the cause of a pain could be found. (Nothing showed up in the MANY tests he had prior to this).
After the surgery, the doctor came to the waiting room and told me he had found nothing, that all was fine. He said he found a COUPLE of TINY adhesions that were causing no problems and just snipped them out. Also, while he was in there he took out the appendix.
On Mar 22, I found him dead in his recliner. He was covered from his nose to his pajama bottoms in the FECES he vomited as he died. Dr. Stevenson had perforated his bowel, the feces leaked into the abdominal area, and he became septic, which led to a blood clot which killed him.
There was nothing to warn us. No red, swollen or sore spots in his legs that would warn of a clot. (And he walked constantly after the surgery to prevent a clot from forming!) The pain he had, was from the gas used during surgery. It's very painful for 4-5 days AFTER surgery. That's what we were told.
The autopsy showed that there was a perforation and that the feces had leaked into the abdoman. He was full of infection. He was still young and should not be dead.
Not only did I lose his love and companionship, but financial support. In 99 the stock market crash wiped out my 401K. In 2001, I became handicapped, and I lost his assistance. So here I am, living on social security, in pain 24/7, and damn lonely.
Thanks to the democratic legislature in Pennsylvania, there isn't crap I can do about it. Thanks to the requirement for a certificate of merit, I get nothing. The doctors cover for each other thanks to the help of the dems!
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