Tort Reform - An Infringement on Rights and a Corporate Handout
In the ongoing debate over health care, Republicans and lobbyists for Big Business continue to clamor for tort reform. To understand tort reform, one must first understand what a tort is. Simply put, a tort is an intentional or negligent act which causes injury (physical, monetary, and/or mental) to another party. When a tort has been committed, the injured party has the right to sue her wrongdoer in civil court. Some common examples of torts include medical malpractice, negligence, and strict products liability. Tort reform refers to legislative measures designed at limiting the amount of damages available to plaintiffs who take legal action for their injuries.
Today’s campaign for tort reform is by no means new or unique. In fact, the tort reform movement was born in the early 90’s by tobacco industries looking to dodge liability in failure to warn and personal injury cases. From its inception, the campaign was designed to appeal to a broad range of corporate interests. It didn’t take long for the pharmaceutical, chemical, insurance, and automobile manufacturing industries to jump onboard the tort reform bandwagon. To date, these industries have collectively poured millions of dollars into public relations campaigns aimed at deceiving the public. The message: Trial attorneys and injured patients file frivolous lawsuits in search of deep pockets and, in turn, drive up health care costs for average, hard-working citizens like you!
These accusations need to be set straight. Before we get into the real motivations behind tort reform, let’s hit the violin music and dim the lights (a little more please…) and consider the real and convincing facts. According to the Institute of Medicine, 98,000 patients die annually as a result of medical error, making medical negligence the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Remember now, this is the number of patients who die each year, not the number of people who are left scarred and seriously injured for the rest of their lives. While 46 states have enacted some version of tort reform, the cost of health care continues to sky rocket as doctors have begun practicing “defensive medicine” (ordering of unnecessary medical tests and procedures) out of fear of medical liability.
Medical malpractice insurance companies, the most zealous advocates of reform, are and will forever be the sole victor in the tort reform movement. In the last 10 years alone, the medical malpractice insurance industry has seen a 47% increase in profitability. According to the American Association for Justice, in 2008 the average profit of the 10 largest medical malpractice insurers was higher than 99% of Fortune 500 companies and 35 times higher than the Fortune 500 average. These profits have been pocketed by insurance companies and have never passed savings to doctors or injured patients. So really, tort reform is just another handout to corporations and insurance companies. Moreover, placing caps on victim recovery, suggesting shorter statute of limitations periods, and proposing the creation of special medical courts to try malpractice cases, are nothing more than corporate attempts to restrict victim access to the legal system for redress of harms and wrongs.
Learn more about the role of our civil justice system in the current health care debate! Visit www.98000reasons.org to find out how you can help put people over profit!
