Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Funeral for Jesica Santillan Will be Held Later Today
Aired March 04, 2003 - 06:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The funeral for Jesica Santillan will be held later today in North Carolina. She's the girl who died after a botched heart/lung transplant. But in Washington, law makers are set for hearings that could change the rules in cases of medical malpractice.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now for a wake up call -- good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course...
COHEN: Carol...
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. What they'll be talking about is this $250,000 cap on medical malpractice suits, right?
COHEN: Exactly. That's what they'll be discussing, should there be a cap or shouldn't there be? When a doctor makes a mistake, should there be a limit on how much money patients can win in court?
Now, President Bush says yes. You mentioned that $250,000 cap. And he says that big jury awards lead to high premiums for doctor's insurance. When there are high premiums, doctors sometimes stop practicing, which leads to doctor shortages in some areas of the country.
Let's take a look at some of these jury awards. In 1994, the median jury award for a medical malpractice suit was $362,500. In 2000, that reached $1 million. Now, medical malpractice premiums have also been climbing. They climbed for OB-GYNs, we picked them because they're a particularly high risk practice. They went up nationally 20 percent in one year, in the year 2000. In south Florida, there are some OB-GYNs, obstetrician/gynecologists who are paying up to $210,000 for one year for premiums for medical malpractice insurance.
What President Bush proposes to do is to put a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering and a $250,000 cap on punitive damages. But consumer groups say caps are not the answer. They say doctors should learn to make fewer errors. They also say that licensing boards should be better about pulling licenses from bad doctors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Do doctors really make that many mistakes?
COHEN: Well, it's not necessarily so much that they make so many mistakes, but all you need is really a handful of cases where jury awards go sky high and that sends premiums up.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens.
COHEN: OK, thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 4, 2003 - 06:53 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The funeral for Jesica Santillan will be held later today in North Carolina. She's the girl who died after a botched heart/lung transplant. But in Washington, law makers are set for hearings that could change the rules in cases of medical malpractice.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now for a wake up call -- good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course...
COHEN: Carol...
COSTELLO: I'm sorry. What they'll be talking about is this $250,000 cap on medical malpractice suits, right?
COHEN: Exactly. That's what they'll be discussing, should there be a cap or shouldn't there be? When a doctor makes a mistake, should there be a limit on how much money patients can win in court?
Now, President Bush says yes. You mentioned that $250,000 cap. And he says that big jury awards lead to high premiums for doctor's insurance. When there are high premiums, doctors sometimes stop practicing, which leads to doctor shortages in some areas of the country.
Let's take a look at some of these jury awards. In 1994, the median jury award for a medical malpractice suit was $362,500. In 2000, that reached $1 million. Now, medical malpractice premiums have also been climbing. They climbed for OB-GYNs, we picked them because they're a particularly high risk practice. They went up nationally 20 percent in one year, in the year 2000. In south Florida, there are some OB-GYNs, obstetrician/gynecologists who are paying up to $210,000 for one year for premiums for medical malpractice insurance.
What President Bush proposes to do is to put a $250,000 cap on pain and suffering and a $250,000 cap on punitive damages. But consumer groups say caps are not the answer. They say doctors should learn to make fewer errors. They also say that licensing boards should be better about pulling licenses from bad doctors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Do doctors really make that many mistakes?
COHEN: Well, it's not necessarily so much that they make so many mistakes, but all you need is really a handful of cases where jury awards go sky high and that sends premiums up.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens.
COHEN: OK, thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for waking up early with DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
