This is, in our view, fair to all parties. Originally, the contingency fee was meant to allow all people, regardless of income, the ability to seek redress in the court system. However, the current contingency fee system is not serving this function well, if at all. ACOG supports a sliding scale to limit contingency fee to ensure that patients, not lawyers, receive the bulk of awards. Elevating the burden of proof to clear and convincing from the current preponderance of evi- dence would improve access to obstetric care, especially for women who reside in underserved areas.
Deliveries are unpredictable.
What begins as a normal delivery can quickly become high risk. During the prenatal period, obstetric providers learn as much as possible about the patient and her pregnancy to limit surprises and anticipate the problems that might occur during labor and delivery. One of the most stressful situations an obstetric provider can face is delivering the baby of a woman whom he or she has not seen before and for whom no medical records are available. However, changing the burden of proof in no way hinders a woman from recovering full damages if she was negligently injured. During Senate debate on HR 956, the only amendment that passed that body with a filibuster-proof vote was an amendment that allowed for this special obstetric rule.