In Wisconsin, medical malpractice victims are attempting to seek justice for those they say the courts have continually ignored or stepped on - the victims themselves. At the moment, Wisconsin only allows spouses, minor children and the parents of those minor children to launch a wrongful death lawsuit against a medical practitioner, but those days might be coming to an end.
Senator Nikiya Harris Dodd, a Democrat from Milwaukee, is proposing new legislation that would allow parents of adult-aged children, such as college students, to sue medical practitioners whose errors directly cause the death of parents or adult children. This is the second time Harris Dodd is bringing this bill forward. The bill died in committee in 2014, but Todd has …show more content…
Though Harris Dodd would like to give rights to adult children, he recognizes that small steps may be the best method of advancing, especially because both the Senate and State Assembly are controlled by Republicans.
Harris Dodd is hoping the toned-down version of the bill will appeal to other lawmakers as well as lobbyists for insurance, business and medical groups. These groups have strongly opposed the bill ever since its first creation, but a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Medical Society lobby stated that the group would not outright oppose the bill initially. They would like to see the costs broken down before they decide whether or not to oppose the bill.
To help politicians, lobbyists and voters relate to the bill, Harris Dodd is calling the bill "Erin's Law," after Erin Rice. The 20-year-old adult died in 1999 as a result of a negligent emergency room physician at a hospital in West Virginia. This physician filed to correctly diagnose Rice's condition, mistaking pneumonia for dilated cardiomyopathy. Wisconsin state laws stopped Rice's parents from filing a wrongful death suit because their child was considered an
Senator Nikiya Harris Dodd, a Democrat from Milwaukee, is proposing new legislation that would allow parents of adult-aged children, such as college students, to sue medical practitioners whose errors directly cause the death of parents or adult children. This is the second time Harris Dodd is bringing this bill forward. The bill died in committee in 2014, but Todd has …show more content…
Though Harris Dodd would like to give rights to adult children, he recognizes that small steps may be the best method of advancing, especially because both the Senate and State Assembly are controlled by Republicans.
Harris Dodd is hoping the toned-down version of the bill will appeal to other lawmakers as well as lobbyists for insurance, business and medical groups. These groups have strongly opposed the bill ever since its first creation, but a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Medical Society lobby stated that the group would not outright oppose the bill initially. They would like to see the costs broken down before they decide whether or not to oppose the bill.
To help politicians, lobbyists and voters relate to the bill, Harris Dodd is calling the bill "Erin's Law," after Erin Rice. The 20-year-old adult died in 1999 as a result of a negligent emergency room physician at a hospital in West Virginia. This physician filed to correctly diagnose Rice's condition, mistaking pneumonia for dilated cardiomyopathy. Wisconsin state laws stopped Rice's parents from filing a wrongful death suit because their child was considered an