Re: Tort Reform
From: Anna Meenan, MD (annam@uic.edu)
Thu Aug 12 17:10:09 2004
Interestingly enough, the guy who sued over the sledding accident in
Connecticut was a urologist, who, now that he's gotten his 6 mil, has
become an ardent supporter of tort reform. i think i read the full
story on the Common Good website.
--
Anna Meenan, MD
At Thu, 12 Aug 2004, art fougner, md wrote:
>
>Op Ed in SF Examiner 8/04/2004
>
>Is common sense dead?
>By Steven B. Hantler | Special To The Examiner
>Published on Wednesday, August 4, 2004
>
>In 1996, Philip K. Howard published "The Death Of Common Sense," which
>told the devastating effects of lawsuit abuse on our American way of
>life, much of which is instigated by trial lawyers who file frivolous or
>unwarranted lawsuits.
>
>That book, and Howard's work since its publication, sends a wake-up call
>to all Americans.
>
>I've been thinking of that book this summer as I visit public swimming
>pools where diving boards have been removed out of liability fears, and
>when I hear stories of people afraid to umpire Little League games out
>of fear of being sued for a "bad call."
>
>Lawsuits, and the threat of lawsuits, are hurting our economy and
>distorting our way of life. Our quality of life is being diminished,
>and a good case can be made that liability fears have kept life-saving
>medical and safety innovations off the market.
>
>Has America gone lawsuit crazy? Absolutely.
>
>Consider just a few stories from this year. In New York City, a
>fifth-grade teacher hurt his knee playing ball in the school gym. He
>sued -- the floor "was slippery and not level." Payoff: $1.2 million.
>Last year the city paid $500 million in claims, up from $21.4 million in
>1978.
>
>In Greenwich, Conn., a man hurt himself while sledding on public
>property. He sued. Payoff: $6 million. As a result town officials may
>ban sledding. The Christian Science Monitor reported in June that
>"increasingly, high schools and colleges are 'grounding' teams" as they
>battle lawsuits.
>
>We might be appalled at these developments, but we should not be
>surprised. Our legal environment encourages Americans to sue.
>
>Common Good, a group that keeps tabs on lawsuit abuse and of which
>Howard is chairman, cites one case in which a driver was involved in a
>crash with another driver who "was allegedly talking on a Cingular
>Wireless phone."
>
>Driver No. 1 launched a lawsuit -- against Cingular.
>
>We slip and fall, we sue. We eat too many French fries and gain too
>much weight, we sue. The road to personal wealth, many Americans have
>apparently concluded, leads straight through the courthouse door. The
>U.S. Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform reports that in a typical
>year, a lawsuit is filed every two seconds. The institute also reports
>that there are more lawyers in West Los Angeles than in all of Japan.
>
>Lawsuit mania is costing us more than our diving boards. It is also
>costing us jobs and innovation, and it is driving medical costs through
>the roof and doctors out of practice.
>
>Some economists estimate that the cost of "defensive medicine" --
>often-unnecessary procedures that help insulate doctors from lawsuits --
>now exceeds $100 billion. That helps add, in some states, $2,000 to the
>cost of having a baby.
>
>Lawsuit fears have stymied or destroyed promising research. According
>to an article in Science magazine, two companies delayed research on an
>AIDS vaccine, while another company abandoned a promising approach
>altogether, due to liability concerns. Volvo will not market its
>integrated child booster seat in the United States because of the threat
>of abusive lawsuits.
>
>Yes, lawsuit abuse is a life-and-death issue. The big winner is, of
>course, the plaintiff's bar, dubbed "Trial Lawyers, Inc." by the
>Manhattan Institute think tank. According to the Manhattan Institute,
>Trial Lawyers, Inc. receives about $40 billion in fees a year, which is
>50 percent more than the sales revenue of Microsoft or Intel, and double
>that of Coca-Cola.
>
>Trial Lawyers, Inc. also greases the political skids in order to thwart
>reform. Its political action committee contributed nearly $3 million to
>congressional campaigns in 2002, the Manhattan Institute says.
>
>Polling shows that most Americans want significant legal reform. Most
>of us want our diving boards back and we want the search for AIDS
>vaccines and other life-saving innovations to accelerate. But until
>there is reform, that's simply not going to happen. It's time for the
>voting public to take a stand in favor of common sense.
>
>Steven B. Hantler is assistant general counsel at DaimlerChrysler Corp.
>and a trial lawyer.
>http://www.sfexaminer.com/article/index.cfm/i/080404op_hantler
>
>art
>
>--
>art fougner, md
>ich bin ein New Yorker
>
