Health care costs, doctors leaving Pennsylvania, and rising insurance rates are being blamed on lawyers and the numerous lawsuits that are filed. Consequently, "tort reform" is repeatedly mentioned by the legislature to "correct" these problems. However, when researching the basis for these claims, it was found that they may be without merit. Specifically, an article by Kathy Gill, titled, Tort Reform: Needed or Hyped?, reported that from 1991 - 2000, a study found that Pennsylvania lawsuit filings have dropped dramatically. Moreover, the average claims payout has basically remained the same for 10 years, and the chairman of the Pennsylvania Medical Society previously testified that they lack statistical evidence to support their claim that doctors are leaving Pennsylvania in droves.
Unfortunately, in Texas, in 2003, the radical tort reformers got their way, and duped their citizens into voting for Proposition 12, which capped the pain and suffering portion of a negligence claim to $250,000.00. According to the news report by MyFox4, in Dallas/Fort Worth, Tort Reform Benefits Questioned, the citizens were advised that tort claims had increased dramatically, however, a bipartisan group studied 17 years worth of data, and found that claims had not increased. The citizens were also advised that they had increasing payouts per claim. However, at the time Proposition 12 was enacted, Texas had the 37th lowest payout per claim. Additionally, the high rise of insurance rates were blamed on the lawyers and the lawsuits, but the insurance companies were just coming off a 5 year mandatory rate decrease (put into effect by the legislature) and were raising the rates dramatically, regardless of claims filed. Finally, the citizens were told that there was a mass exodus of doctors due to the increase of claims and cost of malpractice insurance. The data indicates that there was a major increase in doctors coming to Texas in the late 1990's early 2000's and interestingly, the rate slowed in 2003, when Proposition 12 was enacted.
The report by MyFox4 begins with the story of parents who lost their newborn to a birth complication that may or may not have been caused by malpractice. Unfortunately, due to "tort reform" no attorneys would take the case because the cost of bringing the suit and investigating it, would be upwards of $50,000.00 to $90,000.00. With the cap of $250,000.00, it wasn't worth it.
Because tort reform is constantly being discussed in Pennsylvania, I urge you to explore the information provided, for accuracy before you make your decision. Whether the decision is just personal or if you are asked to vote for something. It would be a shame if the citizens of Pennsylvania got duped the way the Texans did.
