Tort Reform Proposals Would Only Further Harm Victims

Times Leader, The (Wilkes Barre, PA)

January 28, 2005
Section: NEWS
Edition: MAIN
Page: 13A
Memo:NO

TORT REFORM PROPOSALS WOULD ONLY FURTHER HARM VICTIMS

In response to Roger Mecum's recent letter on behalf of the organized medical lobby, we would like to make a few observations.

In the days after President Bush's launch of his "tort reform" initiative, major newspapers across the country unanimously decried the president's one-size-fits-all cap on damages as arbitrary and unfair. They suggested that instead of punishing injured patients, the president should look at regulating greedy insurance companies and reducing medical errors.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said: "The congressional fixes for this `crisis' proposed by Bush and allies are as overwrought as their rhetoric. ... At worst, these measures could deny court access to citizens with legitimate cases. At best, they'd have minimal impact on doctors' insurance premiums and health-care costs. By Congressional Budget Office reckoning, lawsuits are one of the smallest factors driving rising health costs - at less than 2 percent ... ."

The New York Times opined: "Tort reform, the Bush administration's answer to the problem of high medical malpractice costs, makes sense from only one aspect: the political ... Instead of fixating on an idea that would do little to solve anything but the health care industry's desire for fewer big court awards, Congress should push for a wide range of demonstration projects aimed at solving the malpractice problem by actually cutting down on malpractice."

In his letter to your newspaper on Jan. 18, Mecum, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, referred to the medical liability insurance problem as a "three-legged stool" involving the courts, insurance companies and patient safety. But like so many in organized medicine, Mecum proposes nothing to address two of the three legs -- only the one that hurts injured patients by taking away their right to have a jury decide what’s fair.

Mecum quoted the part of a recent Washington Post editorial that criticized the tort system, but predictably left out the part that said, "Unfortunately doctors' groups continue to resist efforts outside the tort system to address the serious problem of medical errors. They want relief from liability without greater disclosure or more aggressive disciplining of doctors."

Instead of punishing injured patients, our legislators need to propose real solutions -- eliminating the 100,000 errors a year that lead to lawsuits, and forcing malpractice insurers to justify rate increases. Until they do, doctors' premiums will continue to rise and our rights will remain under attack.

Paul Lyon Executive Director The Committee for Justice for All Kingston