Medical Malpractice Caps Are Ill-Advised.Tort “Reform” Hurts.
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The New York State Bar Association, of which I am proud to be a member, is yet another nationally recognized and bipartisan organization that sees through the tort “reform” movement. In a November 13, 2009 letter to U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kristin Gillibrand, The NYSBA’s President, Michael E. Getnick, urged that “[i]n assessing the current tort system, it is at least as important to consider the victims of malpractice in comparison to those who cause them personal injury. We have seen…that the attack of tort reformers is a movement that favors cost savings over quality and that emphasizes the corporate bottom line over safety of the public.” And he specifically called for a rejection of caps on damages.
“We object to legislation to cap pain and suffering compensation for victims of medical malpractice. Such caps would unjustly discriminate against classes of accident victims who suffer devastating physical and psychological losses.”
And speaking of caps, Michelle Mello, of Harvard’s School of Public Health, is not impressed with them, according to MarketWatch’s HealthMatters Blog. Professor Mello finds that any impact on medical liability has been modest, and the practice raises issues of fairness to victims. However, she and Kristen Gerencher, the post’s author, have some interesting thoughts on health courts.
I’ll rely on Patrick Quinlan, of InjuryBoard, to close today’s post. He points out that John Stossel, sketchy television news reporter and recent vocal advocate for tort “reform,” is a hypocrite, given Stossel’s own use of us “trial lawyers.” But…is it news if we are not surprised?
Somehow, it reminds me of the hypocritical ways of the RNC, and its leader, Michael Steel, who was quite vocal and self-righteous about keeping the dreaded “coverage for abortion” out of President Obama’s health care reform bill. Of course, Republicans, especially the conservative kind, would never allow such immorality to taint them in any fashion. But wait. What’s that, Mike? The RNC offered its employees insurance coverage for elective abortions? Luckily for us real Americans, Chairman Steele, now that he knows about it, has promised that this option will no longer exist under his administration, according to the LA Times. I don’t know about you, but I feel reassured. And if you guessed that Steele and his cronies are proponents of tort “reform,” you’d be right.
2 Comments on this post
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Texas Life Insurance Lawyer said:
I have never understood the logic of using caps as a method of weeding out “frivolous” med mal cases. The caps only impact the strong cases, not the dogs.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:49 pm -
Andrew J. Barovick said:
I agree with you. As if it isn’t hard enough to get a good med mal lawyer to take your case because of the thorough vetting that most of us have to do, the caps mean that if and when you get a favorable verdict, legislators, and not your jury, have the ultimate say about its amount.
Furthermore, unless you are hell bent on driving yourself broke, “frivolous” and “medical malpractice cases” just don’t go together. Obviously, if it is a “frivolous,” or meritless case, no thinking med mal attorney is going to take it, because he will be throwing his money down the drain.
To me, all of this has the same “logic” as the folks who repeat, mantra-like, that there can be no healthcare reform whithout tort reform. Tort reform refers to a legal process, while reforming the healthcare system has to do with just that–healthcare. Making healthcare available to all at a reasonable price, and making sure that it is of good quality, are admirable goals, but ones which have nothing to do with tort “reform.” But for many, repetition seems to make it true. And unfortunately, the GOP knows this.
January 19th, 2010 at 1:12 pm