I just got off the phone with Consumer Watchdog Boardmember Kathy Olsen, who is in Washington, D.C. today along with her family, and medical malpractice victims and/or their families from four other states, for meetings at the White House with Administration staff regarding limiting the legal rights of innocent victims of medical negligence.

The Olsen family, from Chula Vista, California, are strong advocates for protecting the rights of injured patients. A tragic mistake left their son Steven blind and  brain-damaged at the age of 2. Today he is 20.  (Read more on the Olsens and their story here.)

The Olsens and the other families urged the President not to use caps on damages for medical malpractice victims as a bargaining tool to get Republicans to go along with the health reform bill that is currently being debated in Congress. The administration staff indicated that the President was not going to support medical malpractice damage caps, and Kathy said they all agreed that patient safety should be the top priority. Kathy was relieved to hear that and says that patient safety should always be the top priority, and if this was the case, there would less medical negligence in America. I couldn’t agree more.