Personal injury lawyers appear to have skipped their spring vacations this year. Instead, over the past few months, they have been spending big on attack ads and filing lawsuits left and right against Kentucky’s nursing homes, hospitals and caregivers.
But why?
The answer is not as simple as one might think. Has there been some decline in the care provided to Kentuckians? Of course not. Kentuckians are receiving the same great care and service as always.
The plaintiff’s bar is burning up the printer toner on lawsuits because they know the clock is running out on their taxpayer and consumer funded pot of gold.
The General Assembly passed two important bills this year dealing with legal liability. Now, it’s almost time for them to take effect. Motivated by profit, some bad actor personal injury lawyers know their ability to take advantage of Kentucky’s broken medical malpractice system is about to be severely hampered.
The reforms passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Bevin will help root out meritless lawsuits and stop personal injury lawyers from running unsubstantiated attack ads. This will allow our industry to focus on what matters—patient and resident care — not lawsuits.
Senate Bill 4 established an independent medical review panel system which allows a board of experts to deliver an opinion on whether the standard of care was breached in medical malpractice cases. In some instances, the opinion rendered by the panel can be admitted into the courtroom, but neither the panel nor its opinion will delay or prevent a case from going to trial.
Betsy Johnson
Medical review panels already exist in 17 states, and have long been a priority for Kentucky’s health care community. For many years, legislators catered to the beck and call of out-of-state law firms and refused to even debate legislation that would protect caregivers.
Another reform, Senate Bill 150, will reduce the many false and defamatory personal injury lawyer ads against Kentucky’s nursing homes by requiring certain commonsense standards to be met. In short, their ads must be based on reality, not fabrication.
Special interest lobbyists for the trial bar spent significant amounts of money and fought hard against both bills. Fortunately, the General Assembly chose to move forward with policies proven effective in other states. More importantly, they sided with those who take care of our loved ones, not greedy out-of-state law firms.
And let’s be clear: these firms are predatory. I have heard countless stories of lawyers harassing long term care providers by having law enforcement serve legal notices at homes after business hours and on the weekends. These sorts of intimidation tactics are unacceptable.
There are many types of short and long term care facilities across Kentucky. More than 30,000 Kentuckians have dedicated their careers to helping the 23,000-plus residents who need specialized care. It is a shame to see the great work of these caregivers attacked by those seeking profit at the expense of others.
While the reforms passed earlier this year will surely help, the short term will certainly be painful for Kentucky nursing homes. Personal injury lawyers refuse to go quietly into the night. Since the legislative session ended in April, attack ads and lawsuits have been hitting fast and furious.
I encourage our elected leaders in Frankfort to take note of what’s happening and talk with the nursing home administrators and caregivers in their districts. Whether dismissed, settled or decided by verdict in the courtroom, these lawsuits are expensive and damaging. Now more than ever, it’s evident that the measures passed during the legislative session were desperately needed—and more work remains to truly reform Kentucky’s medical malpractice system.
We must continue our efforts to improve Kentucky’s liability climate. In 2018, the General Assembly should pass a constitutional amendment to establish reasonable caps on certain damages. Such an effort will draw much criticism and hand-wringing from the trial bar, but will provide much needed protections for caregivers in the Commonwealth.
Over the years, Kentucky has become notorious for its easy liability environment. Like flies drawn to honey, trial lawyers across the nation hover over the Bluegrass State.
By imposing a reasonable cap on damages, Kentucky can fully protect caregivers, physicians, hospitals, and small businesses from preying trial lawyers who seek to enrich only themselves. In the end, that’s good for patients, good for taxpayers and good for Kentucky.
Betsy Johnson is an attorney and president of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities
