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Congress Wants to Limit Access to Justice

June 12, 2017

The House of Representatives will be voting on legislation, H.R. 1215, the Protecting Access to Care Act, which will significantly strip away an individual’s right to justice through the courts in the event they are harmed or killed by a health care provider, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation facilities, doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies.  Act now and contact your representative in Congress.

Mr. H, father, grandfather, decorated U.S. Army veteran, suffered from a misplaced feeding tube which resulted in horrific pain for over 21 hours.  His family got justice from the Court and held the providers accountable when no one else would.

H.R. 1215 would have made it more difficult, if not prohibitive, for Mr. H's family to hold the negligent parties responsible for their actions.  This bill is bad for consumers because it:

• Caps pain and suffering compensation (also known as non-economic damages*) at $250,000, even in states where such a cap is unconstitutional
• Mandates that damages over $50,000 must be paid out periodically instead of in a lump sum, leaving long-term care consumers without the necessary resources to access care
• Provides immunity to any health care provider who negligently prescribed or administered a prescription drug
• Limits a consumer’s ability to bring one lawsuit against all responsible parties, instead forcing them to spend more time and money bringing individual suits against each responsible party
• Mandates a more restrictive time period (statute of limitations) for the consumer to file the lawsuit
• Severely limits attorney’s fees, which will cause even fewer attorneys to take these time-consuming cases

The House of Representatives will be voting on this legislation as early as Thursday, June 15, 2017.  Click here to tell your representative in Congress to VOTE NO to H.R. 1215.

To view our fact sheet on H.R. 1215, click here.  To take more actions, visit our website.

*Damages are any sum of money awarded in compensation for a loss or injury.  Non-economic damages include awards compensating the loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, anxiety, pain and suffering.