Tort Reform -- Another Dangerous Scapegoat

It is amazing how often the subject of tort reform rears its ugly head at convenient times as a means of finding a path to the goal of public change.

Not only is Tort reform a red herring, it is one that has been laid out in the sun for so long a period of time that it is polluting the air and clear thinking with odorous excess.

Statistics have shown time and time again that the contribution to medical costs of malpractice claims or other tort litigation is minuscule and by their elimination will deprive the public of astronomically more than it will provide any benefit.

There is no question that overwhelming percentage of medical providers are dedicated and caring as well as meticulously and compassionately careful.

Frivolous lawsuits cannot be brought. The cost of doing so is more frivolous than the litigation. The public has no conception of the expense of managing a medical malpractice case or any personal injury case...

These matters cannot proceed without the employment of experts to determine whether or not the errors claimed to be committed deviated from the applicable medical standards that were requisite at the time. Just reviewing a case can costs tens of thousands of dollars before suit is even started. Court costs and the costs of depositions are also monumental. There are also affidavits required to be provided by the lawyers in question in most states that a case has merit. And believe or not, there are very strong ethical requirements to which lawyers carefully adhere and want to adhere.

(I refer our readers to the sage comments of Judge H. Lee Sarokin and of "permalink" in the September 11 edition of HuffPost)

"Scapegoat causes" are the result of political desperation and always cause more harm than any possible good they are summoned to produce.

Legislated caps on pain and suffering or non-economic damages have been a disaster where enacted. The Lone Star State is one agonizing example. Texas experience has been fine for some of the professionals who are now shielded from accountability, but disastrous for the citizenry. Insurance premiums have gone up, not down, and there is never any guarantee, or probably the faintest notion, that insurance companies would even consider passing on a savings to its policyholders. It has been stated by a multitude of impartial organizations who have studied the impact of tort liability on health care costs and the percentage of such influence or effect is minuscule. In most states where the number of malpractice cases have diminished, the medical malpractice premiums have continued to rise. There is no reasonable cause and effect between the costs of health care and the rendering of jury verdicts. The only item that seems to go up are the insurance premiums.

On the contrary, the suffering occasioned by serious medical errors which can totally ruin all of a person's life is barely compensable in any range of verdicts. Medical errors are said to be the third leading cause of death in the United States according to the American Medical Association.

The mystique of attorneys is so unfair and inaccurate that there is a tendency to believe that if lawyers oppose something, it must be good for the public. People have been made to be afraid of lawyers and the court system which creates a false notion that dealing with lawyers can be expensive, and valuable rights will be lost, when the converse is true. The sooner an individual contacts a lawyer, the more likely, the particular issue can be resolved more cheaply and with a minimum of hassle. Injury or malpractice cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, so that if there is no recovery, there is no fee.

Lawyers are among the most sensitive and caring people in the world. I have shared many an experience with my colleagues in which we expressed our deep concerns about some of our clients and their particular ordeals which we were handling. Many a night has been spent sleeplessly worrying about the outcome of a case and how the particular individual and the family unit could be affected. Many lawyers stay with a client even when they've run out of money and fight on to the bitter end. The truth is, that even though it is a professional relationship, you can have no better friend than a lawyer who is fighting for you and for your rights and welfare.
I am not trying to elevate us to sainthood. I am afraid that is truly the impossible dream. What I am concerned about is the danger that those who need us the most will be discouraged from coming to us at an early stage when we are needed the most. Lawyers are a popular target, because our citizenry suffers from epidemic jealousy of anyone who has the potential to make a lot of money. However, without lawyers and courts, the wealthy and the oppressors cannot be combatted.

Years ago when no-fault insurance was introduced in Pennsylvania, the authors and proponents of the measure stressed that everyone would be required to carry insurance and lower premiums would be mandated. That was all the people heard. They had no conception of their limitations to sue, the essence of the legislation regarding one's own insurance company paying for certain medical bills or other features that could or could not be helpful. just as they are hearing a minimum of features of the proposed health care reforms, all of which can be legislated by themselves, and are in danger of being blindsided by the dangers ("Unintended consequences", I think they are called?) which will be disproportionate to any benefits they might accrue. And no matter how eloquently our President may express the cause he believes in, and eloquence is one of his greatest attributes, our society is heading in a frightening direction.

Many of our basic rights are dangerously eroding. Tort reform is just one more step in that ominous direction.

Follow Saul Segan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/saulesq

Comments

[upgremlin]

Respectfully, I question the credibility of a "moneychanger" industry that focuses on profit over individual health and the credibility of those who would profit from such an enterprise. The health insurance industry is on top of our nation's "problem pile" right now and it's a whole lot bigger than lawyers who have brought justice to their suffering clients.

To those who criticize the function of lawyers: I will listen more to the opinion of those who have had the wrong leg amputated or who have undergone horrible suffering and complications as a result of a surgical instrument being left inside of them after an operation. Lawyers serve a very necessary purpose in our country. And lawsuits do NOT have a significant bearing on the issue at hand.

[droftim]

All the heated characterization of the UK's NICE as some sort of rationing panel, critics overlook the fact that by defining best practices, NICE protects physicans from malpractice suits -- British Law protects a physician who can demonstrate that he was following approved NICE guidelines.

Why not use a carrot instead of a stick?

[dadw5boys]

Doctor use TORT Reform so they can keep OVER TESTING and OVER CHARGING Medicare !!!!!!

[dadw5boys]

Harvard MEDICAL School did a 10 year study of Hospital Medical Records.

The study showed that ONLY 1 patient out of 14 who had a Malprastice Lawsuit ever filed a claim .

The CONCLUSION is that if Americans wnat better Health Care there needs to be more and Larger Lawsuits.

Of course these were Hospital Records that few Patients ever see or know about. So that is how much INCOMPENTENCE there is in just Hospitals.

[keepenit]

Sorry, your entire article loses credibility with the following line...."And believe or not, there are very strong ethical requirements to which lawyers carefully adhere and want to adhere." That's funny

Nobody has ever made a better argument FOR Tort Reform than you by writing that line.