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"Tort Reform" 2004
Author: John R. Alexander The media campaign and state legislative lobby campaign for alleged “Tort Reform” is in high gear on our television airways and within the halls of state government in Olympia. The misinformation about malpractice lawsuits and personal injury litigation remains the same. It is alleged that filings of lawsuits on personal injury claims are increasing; that jury verdicts are out of control and ridiculously high in personal injury cases; and that physicians are being driven from Washington by sky-high medical malpractice insurance premiums. The proposed solutions for these alleged problems is to pass legislation such as ESSB 5287. This and other legislation now being vigorously pushed by an extremely well-funded coalition of insurance companies and large corporate interests would among many other regressive measures place a cap of $350, 000 on jury awards for “non-economic damages,” i.e., for pain, suffering, disfigurement, loss of life, loss of physical and mental function, and loss of enjoyment of the activities of life. The law firm of Adler Giersch, PS believes we owe it to our patients and clients to first know the facts before rushing to judgment on things so important as radical restrictions on the rights of the average citizen have redress in our courts of law. The following brief compilation of facts, on the issues of medical malpractice “tort reform”, is intended to help provide information on the core issues and assertions being put forward in this debate. We hope you will find this informative and helpful. I. Insurance Premiums Will Not Go Down if Caps on Damages are Imposed; Statistically, Premiums are Higher in States with Caps.
II. The Congressional Budget Official (CBO) study identifies cost factors that are involved in rising medical malpractice premiums. The number one factor is the insurance cycle, which includes the loss of projected investment income, and the dramatic increases in the cost of reinsurance which has been caused by weather related disasters and attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center of 9/11. III. Lawsuit filings are down, pay-outs per doctor are down, insurers in malpractice cases routinely request juries, and doctors win the majority of medical malpractice trials.
SOURCE: A County by county survey of all cases filed in the county clerks’ offices for King, Pierce, Spokane, Clark, Kitsap, Yakima, Thurston, Whatcom, and Skagit Counties; this represents over 70% of state’s population; conducted by Sara Crumb, WSTLA Government Affairs Associate. |
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