(Des Moines, IA) — Republicans on a Senate committee have voted to place new limits in medical malpractice cases that involve the death of a patient.
A bill that cleared a Senate committee this week would set 750-thousand dollars as the new cap on so-called “non-economic” damages that a family, children or spouses could receive.
Senator Zach Whiting, a Republican from Spirit Lake, says these are the kind of intangible losses that are commonly referred to as “pain and suffering.”
Senator Rob Hogg, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, voted against the bill in committee. He says this bill will take away from the jury the right to say that how much medical professionals should pay when they ” just totally screw up and kill somebody.”
The matter was a topic of discussion at a legislative forum last week in Spirit Lake.
