Oppose Senate Bill 1125 Hillsborough, NC
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March 12, 2004
The Honorable Senator Elizabeth Dole
The Honorable Senator Harry Reid
Dear Senator Reid and Senator Dole:
I am writing you to express my strong opposition to SB 1125, the so-called "Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act." This bill would drastically limit the rights of dying patients and their families, while protecting a handful of large corporations. As a physician, I understand much better than most of your constituents how deadly asbestos exposure can be. As a patient, I suffer daily the results of such exposure. One year ago this month I discovered that I had mesothelioma, a rare but lethal cancer caused by asbestos. My first reaction was disbelief. 52 years old, fit and energetic, I was a nonsmoker who jogged 25 miles per week. For several months I had experienced recurrent chest pains and fluid at the base of my right lung, but I had been reassured by several specialists that cancer was extremely unlikely. Unfortunately, a biopsy proved them mistaken. Six weeks later I went to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York to undergo extra-pleural pneumonectomy, the removal of an entire lung and the membrane surrounding it. Blood clots in the right side of my chest made a second surgery necessary, but I was able to return home to North Carolina roughly ten days after leaving the hospital. Less than one week later, I developed another complication, this one life-threatening; bleeding around my heart was constricting its ability to pump, a condition known as cardiac tampon-ade. After emergency surgery at Duke Medical Center I wound up in intensive care for several weeks. Despite excellent care and perhaps even some preferential treatment - I trained at Duke during the late 1970's - doctors gave my wife and three children little hope that I would survive. Fortunately, I have learned over the years that we doctors are often wrong about such things. I left the hospital after another week, 45 pounds lighter and in a wheelchair, but still kicking. I actually found the six weeks of radiation treatment that followed more debilitating than my surgery. For the entire time I could scarcely get liquids down. I was hospitalized twice for severe nausea, dehydration, and irregular heart rhythm. Much later, I am now back in the office seeing patients part time, but the road back toward health continues to be rough. I will never regain my previous level of function. There are things worse than the continual pain I still suffer, the cough that won't go away, the shortness of breath I have when walking up a mild incline. Worse than the weakness, the lack of vitality that I now experience, is the knowledge that I can no longer provide for my family. The odds of my being alive four years from now are less than forty percent. I can live with that. But from now on my family will struggle financially, and we also must put aside money for my health expenses. I understand that SB 1125 will prevent patients like me from exercising their civil rights to a jury trial. I also understand that SB 1125 would settle all pending suits, including those in the process of appeal, according to a formula that predetermines the value of life and damages. For congressional decree to invalidate the verdict rendered by a jury without due process is outrageous! The Bill also would create a new federal agency that would not allow families to obtain compensation equal to their actual damages. Families would receive a value determined by the consortium of insurance and manufacturer's lobbyists, minus their legal expenses, minus their outstanding medical bills, and minus any previous settlements, regardless of the age and earning power of the victim. SB 1125 runs contrary to the spirit and tradition of the American legal system. Such an overhaul of our justice system is not only unnecessary and unfair, but also a dangerous precedent. Corporations must remain accountable, and the rights of the individual must be preserved. Finally, the bill is seriously under-funded. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that three to four times the amount proposed will be needed to settle all cases. Given these financial constraints, many cases of merit likely will be dismissed, and even the meritorius claims will not receive timely compensation. As a medical doctor, my oath is to, first, do no harm. This bill first and foremost does harm to the very victims it purports to help. I am not a rich doctor. I have devoted my life to caring for underserved populations. I have done health care research emphasizing unmet needs in this country, worked in government clinics for the poor, directed a privately-funded free clinic, and volunteered to provide much needed care in the developing world. I ask for your consideration not only because I myself am an injured party - though I certainly am - but also for the many less fortunate than I, people without money, connections, medical skills, and knowledge. These victims can't hire lobbyists to influence your vote, but they vitally need your help. The proposed bill would protect large corporations that have knowingly poisoned thousands of people. I will do my best to stop this from happening. I do not believe that SB 1125 can be made acceptable. Please help defeat this bill. Sincerely, Bret C. Williams, MD MPH { to read Dr. Williams' medical profile, please click here }
*** POSTED ON MARCH 15, 2004 *** |
