and miss doroshow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr.conyers, members of the committee, the center for justice and democracy of which i am executive director is a national public interest organization that is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of the civil justice system. this is the fourth time i've been asked to testify before a congressional committee in the last nine years on this very important subject of medical malpractice and i'm honored to do so. i also spoke at two different informal hearings chaired by mr. conyers which featured families includg chdren from all over the country whose lives were devastated as a result of medical negligence. one of those hearings lasted four hours as victim after victim told their stories and pleaded with congress not to cap damages and enact tort reform. they're all paying rapt attention today from afar and i will d my best to represent them, but i do hope this committee decides to hear from themirectly because these families are always the forgotten faces of the debate abou

lawyer doroshow, what do we call that, non-economic loss, recovery for? >> permanent disability, blindness, disfigurement, mutilation -- >> pain and suffering for whatever may arise as a result of the doctors' negligence. pain and suffering. non-economic loss. that is worth something, don't you think? now, the question is how much is pain and suffering worth. that might be a little different for cornesha scott who, back in little rock, arkansas, in 2007, 29-year-old went for a partial thyroidectomy to remove a goiter and 12 hours later, she began to develop a shortness of breath and began feeling her neck tighten, despite complaints to the nurses, her condition was not appropriately monitored or reported to a physician. she went into respiratory arrest and suffered severe brain damage. it was later discovered that she had a hematoma at the site of the surgery. she is now bedridden and totally dependent on her mother for care. now, that's pain and suffering. do you think that pain and suffering is worth more than an arbitrary cap of $250,000? if you do, i

and miss doroshow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. conyers, members of the committee, the center for justice and democracy of which i am executive director is a national public interest organization that is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of the civil justice system. this isth urth te ive beasdoteif bor ngssnacoite t la nne years on this very important subject of medical malpractice and i'm honored to do so. i also spoke at two different informal hearings chaired by mr. conyers which featured families including children from all over the country whose lives were devastated as a rtheir stories pleaded with congress not to cap damages and enact tort reform. they're all paying rapt attention today from afar and i will do my best to represent them, but i do hope this committee decides to hear from them directly because these families are always the forgotten faces of the debate about how to reduce health care and insurance costs. while i understandhisan ovsit hearg d we n knowhabills may coideredy e committee, typic

and miss doroshow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. conyers, members of the committee, the center for justice and democracy of which i am executive director is a national public interest organization that is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of the civil justice system. this is the fourth time i've been asked to testify before a congressional committee in the last nine years on this very important subject of medical malpractice and i'm honored to do so. i also spoke at two different informal hearings chaired by mr. conyers which featured families including children from all over the country whose lives were devastated as a result of medical negligence. one of those hearings lasted four hours as victim after victim told their stories and pleaded with congress not to cap damages and enact tort reform. they're all paying rapt attention today from afar and i will do my best to represent them, but i do hope this committee decides to hear from them directly because these families are always the forgotten faces of the deb

and miss doroshow. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. conyers, members of the committee, the center for juste and democracy of which i am executive director is a national public interest organization that is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of the civil justice system. this is the fourth time i've been asked to testify before a congressional committee in the last nine years on this very important subject of medical malpractice and i'm honored to do so. i also spoke at two different informal hearings chaired by mr. conyers which featured families including children from all over the country whose lives were devastated as a result of medical negligence. one of those hearings lasted four hours as victim after victim told their stories and pleaded with congress not to cap damages and enact tort eform. they're all paying rapt attention today from afar and i will do my best to represent them, but i do hope this committee decides to hear from them direcy because these families are always the forgotten faces of the debate a

lawyer doroshow, what do we call that, non-economic loss, recovery for? >> permanent disability, blindness, disfigurement, mutilation -- >> pain and suffering for whatever may arise as a result of the doctors' negligence. pain and suffering. non-economic loss. that is worth something, don't you think? now, the question is how much is pain and suffering worth. that might be a little different for cornesha scott who, back in little rock, arkansas, in 2007, 29-year-old went for a partial thyroidectomy to remove a goiter and 12 hours ter, she began to develop a shortness of breath and began feeling her neck tighten, despite complaints to the nurses, her condition was not appropriately monitored or reported to a physician. she went into respiratory arrest and suffered severe brain damage. it was later discovered that she had a hematoma at the site of the surgery. she is now bedridden and tally dependent on her mother for care. now, that's pain and suffering. do you think that pain and suffering is worth more than an arbitrary cap of $250,000? if you d i disagr