SAUERBERG EXPOSÉ: Doctor/candidate wants to abolish jury trials for malpractice victims

NEWS FROM:
ANDY MARTIN
“He works for
the People of Illinois”
Republican for U. S. Senator
Suite 4406
30 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611-4723
(312) 440-4124


SAUERBERG EXPOSÉ: DOCTOR/CANDIDATE WANTS TO ABOLISH JURY TRIALS FOR MALPRACTICE VICTIMS

ANDY MARTIN CALLS SAUERBERG’S PROPOSAL “THE DEATH KNELL TO SAUERBERG’S CAMPAIGN; THE LAST AND FINAL ACT OF INCOMPETENCE”

IS STEVE SAUERBERG A MEDICAL QUACK, OR JUST AN INSINCERE CANDIDATE WHO WANTS TO MAKE DOCTORS RICHER AND ORDINARY PEOPLE POORER, BY TAKING AWAY ACCESS TO JURY TRIALS AND JUDGES?

(CHICAGO)(November 29, 2007) Republican U. S. Senate candidate Andy Martin exposed his primary opponent, Dr. Steve Sauerberg, as sponsoring a “health” plan proposing an end to jury trials and judges in malpractice cases. Under Sauerberg’s “health” plan, victims of malpractice would be denied access to courts to collect damages. The right to a jury trial would be abolished.

“We promised a ‘Demolition Day’ for Steve Sauerberg and Andy McKenna, and I believe we are delivering. The only ‘health’ that would be improved by Sauerberg’s proposal is the health of his colleagues’ bank balances,” Martin chortled.

“If this were a medical proposal, Sauerberg would be prosecuted for quackery,” Martin said. “Sauerberg neglects to tell people his ‘plan’ to abolish jury trials and judges requires an amendment to the U.S. Constitutions. An amendment that will never happen.

“If someone told you that a doctor was going to run for statewide office with a ‘health plan’ protecting his friends and colleagues by abolishing jury trials and abolishing courts to resolve malpractice claims, you would have to say no one could imagine such an outrageous candidate and campaign. Meet Steve Sauerberg.

“Sauerberg’s plan is loony. He wants to create a form of doctors’ royalty. Like kings, doctors would enjoy immunity from lawsuits in courts of law, and jury trials would be abolished. Doctors could buy more expensive cars and homes with all the money they saved by not having to pay for injuring their patients.

“Sauerberg would require that victims who want to appeal to an appellate court guarantee in advance to pay the doctors’ appellate legal bills. Since only 3% of appeals succeed, and most victims of malpractice are incapacitated, victims could not guarantee to pay massive legal bills in advance. The public would be excluded from the judicial system. It’s all there in black-and-white in Sauerberg’s ‘plan.’ (links and text below)

“In my humble opinion, Sauerberg’s plan is an embarrassment to Andy McKenna who recruited him, an embarrassment to Illinois Republicans who have endorsed this medical quack, and an embarrassment to anyone who takes Sauerberg seriously. His health plan is the death knell of his campaign.

“First he barely collected enough petition signatures, embarrassing party officials who had endorsed him. Then he held a news conference to discuss immigration, without knowing what 'Anchor babies' were.

“Now he wants to immunize doctors from liability for their malpractice. Any Republican county or township organization that endorses Sauerberg is embarrassing itself and endangering public support for the Republican Party.

“I have run a positive campaign,” Martin concluded. “I have campaigned on the issues and on the breadth of my experience in foreign policy and public policy. I have not attacked Sauerberg's personal life or peccadilloes. But exposing the quackery of his ‘health plan,’ which is solely designed to improve doctors’ bank balances and endow them with royal immunity from jury trials and judges, exposes Sauerberg for what he is: an incompetent candidate who has run an incompetent campaign and who is an embarrassment to Illinois Republicans.

“Truly, today is Demolition day for ‘Combine Candidate’ Sauerberg and his endorser, Andy McKenna.

“As for me, I work for the People of Illinois. I am not a front man for rich doctors,” Martin concluded.

DOCUMENTATION (from Sauerberg’s web site):

Establish Administrative Health Courts to reduce the tax burden of crowded state courts, reduce healthcare fees and ensure a fair decision making process.Under the Sauerberg Your Healthcare – Your Choice plan, the federal government will offer financial assistance to states to establish Administrative Health Courts tasked with determining whether a healthcare provider is responsible for a patient’s injury in each medical malpractice case, and if so, what remedy is appropriate. Administrative Health Courts will be chaired by a citizen’s advocate and consist of a panel of six independent experts – three legal experts and three medical experts – that will be tasked with making a determination about the case. Access to state appellate courts will be available if either party is unhappy with decisions made by Administrative Health Courts. However, a party appealing a decision of the Administrative Health Court will have to agree to pay the costs associated with defending the appeal if the appeal failed in state court.

LINK (to Sauerberg’s “health plan”):

http://www.sauerbergforussenate.com/newsDetail.aspx?newsID=2435

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© Copyright by Andy Martin 2007. Chicago-based Martin holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law. Comments? E-mail: AndyforUSSenator@aol.com. Media contact: (312) 440-4124. Web site: AndyforUSSenator.com.