The Maine Health Security Act, came about in 1977. Thirty-two years later, provisions of the law which discriminate against plaintiffs still exist. The manner in which the findings are allowed to be entered into evidence totally give the medical profession an unfair advantage.
From the 1997 Maine Supreme Court case: BRAND v. SEIDER: at paragraph 9 of the decision:
[¶9] In our jurisprudence concerning the Health Security Act, we must recognize that the Act limits the liability of health care providers in derogation of the legal rights of potential plaintiffs.
Derogation means "the taking away"! I came upon cases in which plaintiffs were actually awarded money by juries... but on appeal by the physicians, those jury decisions were vacated by the Maine Supreme Court. The cases are Merriam v. Wanger, decided in the year 2000, and the notorious 2007 Maine Supreme Court's Smith v. Hawthorne.
Take a look at the video commentary with Terrance Sheehan, CEO at the website of the physician-owned Medical Mutual Insurance Company of Maine. He's proud that they've been able to keep costs down... yeah, at the expense of victims of medical errors.
