Re: Tort Reform
From: =?iso-8859-9?Q?Dr._Bülent_Potur?= (bpotur@ttnet.net.tr)
Fri Aug 13 09:34:11 2004
Well I think only the lawyers can pull the doctors out of this lawsuit abuse
mess. Though I am not very familiar with American legal system I know that
there was not a law about abortion but instead a supreme court decision
respecting the woman's right to decide to carry or not to carry a pregnancy
which had resulted very liberal abortion practices.
Turkey nowadays is striving to enter the European Union. She has abolished
the capital punishment. She has even passed a law stating that if a local
law contradicts the EU law then the EU law is applied. The Universal
Declaration of the Human Rights is one of the main laws of the EU. It states
that all human beings are equal irrespecrive of their gender, race,
ethnicity, language, religion etc.
I respect the US citizen's feelings because of the current situation and I
beg not to be misunderstood. Please do not consider me as the devil's
advocate. And I am not aware if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is
considered as a law in the US or whether she has reservations.
If I am not mistaken, if an an innocent civilian is accidentally killed by
US forces in Iraq the US Government pays $ 1000 -onethousandusdollars- to
the victim's family.
No one in the US can be richer than the US government.
So if the richest pays only $1000 then how can poor docs pay more? I believe
a good lawyer with a Supreme Court decision can save poor fellow docs out of
this mess.
Bulent Potur M.D. Obgyn
>----- Original Message -----
From: "art fougner, md" <evsono@pipeline.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 10:06 PM
Subject: Re: Tort Reform
> 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
|
|
