Early Offer Legislation Provides No Justice

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In an op-ed piece entitled, “Hard to Make Choices Blindfolded”, former NH Superior Court and Supreme Court Justice Chuck Douglas makes the compelling point that the so-called “Early Offer” legislation is one-sided and only assists insurance companies and protects doctors and healthcare workers who’ve injured patients.
Justice Douglas writes in part, “The early-offer medical negligence legislation in New Hampshire runs counter to the way we value life in this state. Under the proposal, a hospital or other provider can kill a patient and the compensation is only $117,500. To put that in perspective, the lowest amount paid to the innocent victims at the World Trade Center was $356,000. Even an illegal alien maintenance man with no education and no family had a human dignity value three times higher than the value SB 406 places on human life.
Furthermore, the bill is premised on the fact that elderly folks on Social Security who have no earned income, or stay-at-home moms who have no income, are not worth paying for pain and suffering. The bill covers payments only for lost wages. If you have no lost wages, your loss of enjoyment of life is worth zero.”
As the NH Legislature debates this bad legislation, it’s crucial for NH residents to contact their local state representative and voice their opposition to this unfair bill.

Kevin Dugan
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