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| Scranton Times Tribune | l |
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| Senator Piccola's Serious Conflict | ||||||||
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| State Sen. Jeffrey Piccola of Dauphin
County, the Republican whip, is at the forefront of the legislative
effort in his chamber to convert the medical malpractice issue into
a massive giveaway to industry, in general. Amid the debate whether a cap should be placed on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, as a means to hold down insurance costs, Mr. Piccola and his colleagues hatched a plan to amend the state constitution so that such a cap could be placed on all damage awards. So, if a child or older citizen who has no income is killed in an accident with, say, an unsafe garbage truck from New Jersey, that trash hauler would face a penalty no greater than $250,000, or whatever cap that Mr. Piccola and a handful of other anti-consumer lawmakers might find appropriate. The constitutional provision that Mr. Piccola wants to trash exists precisely to prevent such manipulation by the Legislature in favor of wealthy interests; it is meant to put the question in the hands of common citizens -- jurors. The industry that would benefit most from such a universal cap would be the insurance industry, which no longer would face uncertain consequences from its clients' nefarious conduct. Mr. Piccola, it turns out, is a member of the boards of directors of the Eastern Atlantic Insurance Co. and the Builders Direct Insurance Co. -- a circumstance that resulted in the lawyers' lobby calling for his recusal from the universal cap issue. His involvement with the insurance industry is indeed a serious conflict of interest. He should heed the call to remove himself from the legislative process regarding the amendment.
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| İScranton Times Tribune 2004 |