|
Orthopaedic Doctors Name
Piccola Legislator of the Year
HARRISBURG -- Senate Majority Whip Jeffrey E. Piccola (R-15)
was named today Legislator of the Year for 2005 by the
Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society (POS) for his leadership
and commitment to supporting excellence in medicine
including efforts to reform the Commonwealth's lawsuit abuse
crisis.
During their annual
scientific meeting in Pittsburgh, POS honored Piccola for
his efforts to reduce medical liability insurance premiums,
eliminate frivolous lawsuits, and set reasonable limits on
non-economic damages, otherwise known as "pain and
suffering" awards. Piccola is the first senator to receive
the award, which recognizes an outstanding commitment to orthopaedic medicine in Pennsylvania.
Throughout his career, Piccola has worked
diligently for the passage of reforms to restore fairness,
common sense, and personal responsibility to Pennsylvania's
civil justice system. This advocacy includes the recent
step taken to reenact the joint and several liability law, a
landmark tort reform measure that was struck down by a court
decision earlier this year. Joint and several liability is
the archaic legal doctrine whereby those with minimal
responsibility can be held liable for most or all damages,
often times based only on the party's ability to pay and not
actual culpability.
"Our Commonwealth has some of the finest
medical schools in the country, but unfortunately our young
medical students and residents won't be staying here to
practice medicine. They are fleeing the excessive
malpractice premiums and litigation prone climate of
Pennsylvania. Practices are also shrinking as physicians
retire early or relocate to jurisdictions with lower
premiums. Consequently, Pennsylvanians are waiting much
longer to see specialists such as our orthopedic surgeons,"
said Piccola.
"I am honored to be the
first member of the Pennsylvania Senate to receive this
award and welcome the opportunity to tackle additional,
meaningful tort reform so that we can preserve world class
specialty medical care in this state," he added.
|
