Personal Injury Law: The Straight Talk About Tort Reform
If you pay attention to politics, you'll hear the words "tort reform" thrown around every so often.
It was especially prevalent recently during the debates to reform health care.
But what exactly is tort reform and what does it mean? Allow me to give you an unbiased and easily-understood explanation of tort reform.
Tort reform refers to tort law, which is the section of law where a disservice is done from one citizen to another (note that this does not include criminal acts which involve a disservice to society at large).
Within the realm of tort law is personal injury and medical malpractice law.
When politicians talk about tort reform, they are talking about amending laws that deal with personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuits.
Proponents of tort reform argue that we live in a society where doctors are sued too often and, because of this, they need expensive malpractice insurance and civil defense lawyers which drives up costs of hospitals and doctors' offices which, in turn, jack up prices of health insurance for everyone.
The common proposal for remedying the situation is to reform tort laws to limit damages that are able to be awarded to a victim, limit the amount of times a patient is able to sue, limit the amount of times a doctor can be sued, or some combination of these suggestions.
Opponents of tort reform argue that, if such laws are changed, victims of medical malpractice might not get the damage rewards they are entitled to or they might not be able to address their grievances at all.
These are very complicated issues and people on both sides of the argument have legitimate concerns that should be addressed in an appropriate manner.
Far too often, doctors and personal injury lawyers are demonized in this debate and the real issue of cost and civil responsibility is overlooked.
There is no easy answer to this problem.
Doctors take an oath to help people and perform their duties to the best of their ability.
Personal injury lawyers and Social Security Disability lawyers that often are involved in these lawsuits have a duty to protect their clients that often have a very real claim to being wronged by medical malpractice.
It is likely a compromise solution will not come for some time.
But as this debate continues, know the facts, research the arguments and possible solutions, and debate civilly.
It was especially prevalent recently during the debates to reform health care.
But what exactly is tort reform and what does it mean? Allow me to give you an unbiased and easily-understood explanation of tort reform.
Tort reform refers to tort law, which is the section of law where a disservice is done from one citizen to another (note that this does not include criminal acts which involve a disservice to society at large).
Within the realm of tort law is personal injury and medical malpractice law.
When politicians talk about tort reform, they are talking about amending laws that deal with personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuits.
Proponents of tort reform argue that we live in a society where doctors are sued too often and, because of this, they need expensive malpractice insurance and civil defense lawyers which drives up costs of hospitals and doctors' offices which, in turn, jack up prices of health insurance for everyone.
The common proposal for remedying the situation is to reform tort laws to limit damages that are able to be awarded to a victim, limit the amount of times a patient is able to sue, limit the amount of times a doctor can be sued, or some combination of these suggestions.
Opponents of tort reform argue that, if such laws are changed, victims of medical malpractice might not get the damage rewards they are entitled to or they might not be able to address their grievances at all.
These are very complicated issues and people on both sides of the argument have legitimate concerns that should be addressed in an appropriate manner.
Far too often, doctors and personal injury lawyers are demonized in this debate and the real issue of cost and civil responsibility is overlooked.
There is no easy answer to this problem.
Doctors take an oath to help people and perform their duties to the best of their ability.
Personal injury lawyers and Social Security Disability lawyers that often are involved in these lawsuits have a duty to protect their clients that often have a very real claim to being wronged by medical malpractice.
It is likely a compromise solution will not come for some time.
But as this debate continues, know the facts, research the arguments and possible solutions, and debate civilly.
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