Tort Reform - Debunking the Myth

[kanrok]

Here's a quick lowdown on some important issues regarding tort "reform"...a staple of the Republican diet. http://gadflyer.com/ammodump/index.php?AmmoDumpID=6

[Media_Lies_Daily]

1. What's a toet?

Heh-heh-heh.

[kanrok]

2. It should be "Tote's"

You know, when you buy a new pair of Tote's and they don't work like you expect? Instead of exchanging them, you convince your Congressman to introduce a bill to change the way they're sold! Ooops. My mistake.

[vi5]

3. I wish they included some citations and references with that....

I know a lot of people (my parents included) who are by and large liberal and/or democrats who tend to agree with the right on tort reform. I'd love to be able to send them this but the article states a lot of things as solid fact, without evidence to back it up. I believe it, but most of the people I know tend to like some sort of corroboration when reading things like this.

[Killarney]

5. I read a similar article on cbsnews.com

about a month ago. I just tried to find it for you, but couldn't.

It said the same thing... that the reason malpractice insurance is so high is because their investments have tanked. It has little or nothing to do with the lawsuits. Lawsuits have gone down this year and insurance costs have gone up. It all has to do with interest rates and the market, that's it.

Of course, the Repubs don't want ANYONE to know that.

[Bridget Burke]

6. You could do a bit of research...

I Googled "Jenna Bush" Enterprise & this popped up:

The New York Daily News reported that President Bush sued Enterprise Rent-A-Car over a minor 1998 auto accident in which no one was hurt. A car driven by an Enterprise customer with a suspended driver's license hit Bush's 1995 Jeep Cherokee, driven by daughter Jenna Bush. The accident was so minor that police weren't even called to the scene. The case settled for $2000-$2500, although lawyers familiar with Texas insurance law said the suit probably was unnecessary because Bush's insurance most likely would have covered his costs stemming from the accident.

Source: "Bush turned litigious, targeted rental car firm over fender bender," New York Daily News, 8/26/2000

Of course, the website belongs to the American Trial Lawyers' Association, so some would consider it suspect. But they do supply sources.

www.atla.org/ConsumerMediaResources/Tier3/press_room/FACTS/medmal/bushsantorumhypocrisy.aspx

But if it's too much trouble, don't bother!

[trotsky]

7. Yep, that would be nice.

Same deal for me. I could easily pass this over to my freeper coworkers when they start whining for tort reform, but without specific cites & references, they'll dismiss it.

[Virginian]

4. Great website!

Does DU have a link to it? I forgot to look.

Here is some more entertaining reading on Tort Reform. Cases that republicans site as a reason for tort reform. These cases never happened.

http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp


edited to correct spelling. I was reforming pasteries by adding an e.

[Warpy]

8. Even when the cases DO happen

...as in the infamous McDonald's coffee case in NM, the outrageous awards for pain and suffering get reduced on appeal, often to nearly nothing. In this case, the woman got her hospital bills paid, and that's about it. She never saw the $2.5 million that the right wingers are so fond of howling over.

This is how the system is supposed to work. Juries may be shocked by injuries or sentimental regarding a victim, but the appeals process is a cold one, impervious to emotional considerations.

If we lived in a country with national health insurance, perhaps the outrageous awards that do get through might be capped. After all, the necessity of a lifetime of care after serious injury would no longer be a consideration. However, we live in a cruel country with monetary health care rationing, and capping awards is insane.

[dsc]

9. are there any Republicans who aren't hypocrits?

Santorum did the very same thing. Sued for some outlandish amount of money when his wife was injured by malpractice.

[radwriter0555]

10. ken lay bought bush's TX tort reform which effectively made enron TEFLON..

thanks to bush, NO one can sue enron for its crimes, courtesy of the wallet of ken lay. bush passed scathing tort reform laws for his pal, something easily read up on a google search.

this explains why there is no indictment of ken lay, as we close in on the expiration of the statute of limitations.

[Bombtrack]

11. Most of the pro-Tort Reform DUers were just people looking for something

to Bash Edwards with during the primaries. Now it's people bashing him as a vp choice argument.

[Brewman_Jax]

12. Here's another site

Center for Justice and Democracy (http://www.centerjd.org) also has info on the myth of tort reform.