Early Offer Legislation Proponents Offer Only Part of the Story

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Dr. Kevin Pho is a primary care physician practicing in Nashua NH. This past Sunday he wrote a guest editorial published in the Nasua Telegraph. He is a proponent of the “early offer” legislation recently passed by a NH Senate Committee.
I agree with Dr. Pho when he asserts that “lost in this debate are the patients.” However, I don’t agree with much else he wrote in his editorial. Dr. Pho claims that the “early offer” legislation would provide “payment” to victims of medical malpractice in a quick and timely fashion. However, “quick and timely” shouldn’t be at the expense of justice and fair and equitable compsensation for the injuries incurred. The proposed law circumvents the full discovery and determination of the facts surrounding the malpractice event. This is an essential aspect of the civil justice system and largely determines the extent of the damage, culpability, and the compensation to be given to the victim(s) of the malpractice. There is no way justice can be realized when justice itself is sacrificed upon the altar of expediency.
In spite of Dr. Pho’s editorial and concern for patients, this legislation does not help patients or victims of medical malpractice. It’s designed to help the insurance companies who save money through such a system of injustice.

Kevin Dugan
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