On May 11, 2011, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved H.R.5.  This new bill will eliminate the legal rights of people injured by medical negligence, nursing home negligence, defective drugs and medical devices, and will protect HMO’s and insurance companies from civil actions.

This bill will soon go to the full U.S. House of Representatives.  If passed, this bill take away the legal rights of patients while ignoring the real problem, which is the 98,000 people who die every year from preventable medical errors.  If we take away the ability of injured patients and their families to hold health care and medical products providers accountable, we take away the incentive for facilities such as nursing homes to focus on safety and reduce errors.

You can help to protect the legal rights of neglected and abused nursing home residents by opposing H.R.5.  Call your Senator and Representative and let them know that this bill is bad policy and especially bad for nursing home residents.

To find the contact information for your Senators and Representative, go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.