Steve Cohen has an interesting article, On Tort Reform, It’s Time To Declare Victory and Withdraw, detailing the failings of tort reform in the medical malpractice context. In his article, Steve outlines some of the things we’ve learned since tort reform started passing in waves, including in Texas:
1) Tort reform hasn’t decreased healthcare costs. The theory was that doctors afraid of getting sued were prescribing all kinds of unnecessary tests. In fact, studies have shown that doctors in states that have enacted tort reform measures prescribe tests at the same rate as those that haven’t had tort reform measures.
2) Runaway juries aren’t a real problem. Indeed, the data suggests that the average jury awards in medical malpractice cases are significantly lower than the average awards handed down by judges. If anything, juries are conservative on these cases.
3) Tort reform hasn’t significantly decreased the cost of insurance for doctors, though in states with tort reform measures the increases in rates have been slightly lower than the increases in states without tort reform.
What has happened since tort reform? Insurance company profits have skyrocketed. That’s who has really benefited from tort reform.
Unfortunately, in Texas and other states, while trying to craft tort reform for medical malpractice cases, the reforms have bled into other areas of claims, and have hurt the rights of most injured persons and businesses.
With tort reform proven to be a failure, it’s time to make sure it stops.
