Politicians attack "trial lawyers" to pass "malpractice reform" another great American lie?

Question

"Trial Lawyers" a red herring??

Since malpractice litigation was only 2% of healthcare costs and the proposed "fix" was to limit recovery. A fix that hurts the injured and helps Big Insurance.

Maybe its just business as usual, get us mad at a certain group, use our negative emotions to not think and allow the politicians to take advantage.

Answer 1

Yea, let's see it cost billions. What you do is put the drug on the market and sell 20 million prescriptions at $100 and you have enough to pay the attorneys to cover you. Too bad if several hundred are killed by them.

In my state, now a doctor or nurse can kill you and there is nothing you can do. Friend went in for a stint and they pumped him full of stuff he was allergic to and killed him. Then the 'great ones" told us it was a "complication", but his sister is a doctor and found out that even though it was all over his chart not to give it to him they did. Poor nurse must have partied too much or had just gotten off at another hospital and didn't take her speed.

By the way this state has had enough reform and guess who is the gov., the former RNC chairman, as M. Savage calls him "the pork chop governor', Gov. Barber.

Many more nightmare stories. they will have a free hand to guinea pig everyone and no recourse.

If they hurt someone in the hospital they cover it up instead of telling the family, family doctor and others. Just scum. Before that you had a chance, but now maybe a couple of hundred thou after all and the attorneys don' want to because it's not worth it.

When it happens to them they will change their tune. Funny how we couldn't find any doctors. What is it 2020 70% of doctors will be foreign. It's a joke. Some people will go right off a cliff. Has anyone gotten anything after they announce the big awards and then go to appeals, I don't think so. like the gal that had the hot coffee at McDonald's what was that 50 million and she ended up with nothing. Too bad the "liberal" media doesn't report that. Take care.

Answer 2

Everyone bashes the trial lawyer until THEY'RE hurt by malpractice or in a car accident.

What's ironic is that most malpractice claims settle for or get an award for less than the cap, those cases aren't affected by the caps. The cases where the caps come in are where there was the most harm, the most disability, and the greatest need for a substantial recovery - those cases are the ones most people would agree are deserving of a big recovery, to pay future medical payments, pain & suffering, etc.

Edit to add: for TedEx, there are already caps on malpractice claims in many states. You can get the wrong leg amputated in Indiana, and you'll only get 100,000. Do you want to trade your leg for 100K?

Answer 3

I've gotta tell you, the people who experienced the attacks of 9/11 first-hand are the least afraid. I know, because I was at the WTC and know many, many people that escaped like me. It seems to be other people from places that would never get hit by terrorism that are the most afraid, and I can't explain that. Sure, we in NY are more cautious than we were, but I don't think people are afraid. I guess part of it is having experienced something so tragic makes you realize we (as a nation) can and will survive anything. Especially seeing the response and organization following the event gave me great confidence. Diminishing the power of the Constitution to provide for so-called security does threaten this nation more than any terrorist attack. It's very telling that the people of NYC did not support Bush's re-election, even after 9/11 and do not support, in any great numbers, the bulk of his actions since he was elected..

Answer 4

Well trial lawyers are the largest contributors to politicians, and have been for 20 years.

Trial lawyers contribute 6 times more to politicians than the Oil industry, insurance indusrty or the pharmacutical industry.

The red herring, is to blame the insurance industry for the high cost of health care.

They aren't the ones who charge so much for simple medicial procedures.

Look at the root cause of the health care problems,

The outragious prices that Doctors and Hospitals charge thier patients.

If they stopped charging so much, no one would need health insurance.

The other read herring, is that the medicial profession, generally refuses to disipline bad doctors.

Since the medicial profession is self regulating, doctors are the ones who decide who gets licenses to practice medicine and who loses thier licenses.

And since 5% of doctors are responsible for 80% of all malproactice law suits.

Yanking the medicial licenses of those bad doctors, would fo a long way toward restoring confidence in the medicial profession.

Answer 5

Let's take a look at one of the Tort reform 'poster child cases' the one where a woman was awarded several million $ because a cup of coffee to go from MacDonalds spilled burned her. Sounds silly until you read up. It seems there are health codes that set a maximum temperature at which coffee to go can be sold. MacDonalds had coffee pots that kept the temperature significantly above the temp set in the codes (hmm wonder why the codes were there?). For years they got small penalties for failure to comply with the codes.

Suddenly someone gets hurt because of their arrogance. Now after they got hit with that penalty I bet they conform to the safety codes. If Ii was on that jury I'd probably vote for a huge award as well.

It pays to dig.

Answer 6

Corporate lawyers...now there's a fun bunch of folks. Many of them work for 'insurance companies'...particularly the 'health insurance' companies. Somehow the right wing talk show buzzards never mention these people. I'm sure I don't have to go into one of my long editorials to make my point on this one. 'Trial Lawyers'...defending some poor shmucks right to collect for damages done to him...bad! Corporate Lawyers....defending the rights of trans-national corporations to pollute the entire planet...good! Have I made my poiint here? 'Yer godamned right I did!

Answer 7

Don't expect any reform from John Edwards. How do you think he got the money for those $400 haircuts..he's a blood-sucking malpractice trial lawyer that helped make American medicine so expensive

Answer 8

Malpractice costs billions of dollars and has shut down thousands of clinics, hospitals, and care centers.

Shady and corrupt lawyers like John Edwards have driven up the cost of healthcare.

Answer 9

I'll believe it when I see it. Most politicians ARE lawyers.
Another example of " vote for me " legislation. No way will it ever pass , but it SOUNDS good.

Answer 10

Corporate Fascism as usual. Neuter the public so they can be economically terrorized.