subject: Tort Reform Debate Goes On ... And On [print this page] Every four-year cycle, it's a perennial theme on the campaign trail: tort reform. For some, the phrase means cleaning up the court system, cutting down a backlog of frivolous suits and pointless litigation "" results that will find their way into the commercial realm, allegedly benefiting business and consumers alike. For those who deal with the effects of serious personal injury, changes in the tort system mean the only person who pays for the suffering caused by someone's negligence is the victim. In the middle of the ongoing conflict are the San Diego personal injury lawyers, the judges, the politicians, and everyone who's ever been on either end of a lawsuit. From San Diego to New York and everywhere in between, tort reform remains a hotly contested issue. But who's on the right side?
Proponents of tort reform don't have to look far to make a case against frivolous suits and their attendant costs. Much of the furor around the legislative momentum is focused on medical malpractice suits. Case after case is cited in which a patient who claims to have suffered a personal injury at the hands of a negligent medical practitioner is awarded millions of dollars in damages. These costs, allege politicians "" including former presidential candidate John McCain "" are eventually passed onto the healthcare system, making it nearly impossible for anyone but the very rich to afford basic medical treatment. (The legislative reforms are by no means limited to personal injury litigation, but it gets the most attention.) Tort reform is largely supported at the federal level by the Republican Party, who is currently pushing for "non-economic" damages to cap at $250,000 and tighter limits on lawyer contingency fees.
On the other side of the argument are those who say that the chief beneficiaries of tort reform are the very businesses, in San Diego and elsewhere, that can afford the staggering costs of litigating a claim. Tort reform naysayers make a convincing case that applying sweeping changes to the system will unnecessarily punish those who may have a meritorious case, lumping them into the same category as the abusers. Certainly, among the opponents of tort reform are many litigators and others in the business of personal injury claims, but opponents aren't limited to the personal injury lawyer class. Critics point out that places where tort reforms have been enacted, such as Texas, have seen a significant drop in the number of cases decided by a jury. That's a legal injustice that doesn't align with a democratic society, they say.
It's a sure bet that as the presidential election ramps up, San Diego residents will hear the familiar "tort reform" refrain at some point. Anyone who's ever had the need to hire a San Diego personal injury lawyer is sure to have an opinion on the matter. But this is one campaign-trail issue that isn't likely to disappear.
