Sacramento, CA – A new Consumer Alert video from Consumer Watchdog features a mother whose son died at the age of 20 due to gross medical negligence and discusses the need for SB 29 (Laird), which continues survivors’ rights to collect pre-death pain and suffering damages.
SB 29 passed the California Senate and is awaiting action in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The video also discusses the tragic death of Downey resident Tammy Smick’s son Alex and debunks the claims that continuing survivors’ rights to collect for their loved ones’ suffering will increase medical malpractice costs.
“Since we could not recover for Alex’s suffering before he died that prevented my family from finding justice in a court of law because the damages available were not great enough,” Smick states. “At the time California was only one of four states that did not allow compensation for predeath pain and suffering. The lifting of the ban on pre-death pain and suffering damages in 2022 allowed other survivors to seek justice so families are not locked out of the courts as I was.”
SB 29 extends the right of survivors to collect predeath pain and suffering damages until 2030.
Smick shows data on medical malpractice claims and premiums in the video.
“The change had no impact on medical malpractice insurance premiums or claims. In fact, in the year after the change took effect, malpractice claims as a percentage of premium were at their lowest point in decades,” Smick notes. “ The bill will help patients and not impact doctors, hospitals or clinics with any increased costs. I urge your support for SB 29.”
Doctors’ malpractice insurance rates also did not rise after the ban on pre-death pain and suffering damages was lifted. Only one medical malpractice insurance company, representing just a few hundred doctors or less than 0.2% of the market, sought and received a rate increase since 2022.
