Putting community ahead of partisanship
By Sen. Zach Nunn, Senate District 15 Rep. Brian Lohse, House District 30
March 3, 2020 via NewtonNews
When we first arrived at the Statehouse, we received wise advice any elected official should take to heart: always vote your conscience, listen to your constituents, and ensure your community’s priorities are ahead of your political caucus.
In serving our community, we consider hundreds of proposed bills every session. Many of these bills emerge as good policy for Iowans, and we are proud to send them to the Governor for consideration to become laws. The overwhelming majority of bills before the Iowa Senate and House are passed with bipartisan support — 85 percent during the last session.
However, there are times when voting with your party must rank as lower priority than voting to support needs of our community. This week, I voted against the majority party on Senate File 3150, a bill that would have placed limits on the amount a patient could receive in non-economic damages when the medical provider causes a grievous injury.
In the House, the companion bill was filed and sent to the Judiciary Committee on which Representative Brian Lohse sits. That bill, HSB596, did not survive the subcommittee and, died in committee, which was urged by Representative Lohse. Senate File 3150 has now come to the House and will be sent to the Commerce Committee on which Representative Lohse also sits. He will again oppose its advancement.
In our community, we were met by Deb, a widow in Altoona, who lost her husband of 20-years due to doctor negligence that occurred during a routine gallbladder removal. The loss of her “soul mate” was more than she could bear. But the State Legislature’s proposed bill would limit what a jury, as reviewed by a judge, could have awarded this wronged widow.
In Bondurant, we met with Meredith, a young lady who worked at the local Brick Street Market and Cafe. Recently, she lost her grandfather as a result of a doctor’s negligence when a feeding tube was placed in his trachea rather than his esophagus. Despite being told three times by a radiologist the tube was placed incorrectly, it was never moved and she and her grandmother had to watch while he slowly, literally, drowned.
A jury is best suited to award the proper amount of damages, not legislators. The jury hears the facts of each case. Each case is different. The judge presiding over the trial is empowered already to add to or subtract from a jury award that the judge believes does not fit with the facts or if the judge believes that the jury failed in its mission. This process is called additur and remittitur. Law students like Representative Lohse learn about this their first year in law school.
There is merit to a discussion over run-away lawsuits and obscene pay-outs to over ambitious trial attorneys. But the reality for patients, medical professionals, attorneys and tax-payers, is that medical malpractice cases rarely return extreme verdicts in Iowa. This assessment is proven when reviewing insurance premiums collected from 2009 to 2018 versus the claims paid by jury verdicts as validated by the Department of Insurance and reviewed by the Insurance Commissioner’s office.
We both want to see our rural hospitals and high-risk medical procedures available to Iowans in need. We do not want doctors leaving Iowa because of high insurance premiums. Fortunately, there has been an increase in the number of physicians serving Iowa over the past decade, and also a reduction in the number of medical malpractice cases filed, as well as jury trials that have taken place.
As elected servants to you — the voter — we have an obligation to listen to our conscience and vote our constituents’ priorities. As your Senator, and your Representative, we are committed to working with you, even if that means occasionally bucking our party. Together, we are better positioned to serve the patients and families in need across our community.