[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 120 (Thursday, September 22, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      LAWSUIT ABUSE AWARENESS WEEK

  (Mr. PRICE of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as a third generation physician, I 
have seen health care in our Nation change in the most dynamic of ways. 
Advances in medicine and technology have improved the lives of millions 
of people. Today, however, the doctor-patient relationship that is so 
critical in providing quality health care is being exploited. It is no 
wonder that four out of every five Americans are wary of frivolous 
lawsuits in health care. Insurance companies, personal injury trial 
lawyers and even the potential of a lawsuit are leading hospitals to 
close their doors and doctors to stop practicing faster than ever 
before.
  Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week begins on October 3, not a moment too 
soon. Health care decisions must and should be made in the clinic and 
the operating room, not the courtroom. Decisions should be in the best 
interests of patients, not in the best interests of the pocketbooks of 
personal injury lawyers. I have seen it happen myself, with doctors 
making medical decisions out of fear of lawsuits, not from what they 
learned in medical school. That is not why they devoted their lives to 
medicine. Their only desire is to help heal people, not worry about 
whether their diagnosis would be put on trial.

                          ____________________