Taking the Pain Out of Tort Reform

Having first looked at efforts to pass more tort reform in Mississippi (Jan. 12, “Miss. Tort Reform In Play As Lawyers Flock to Magnolia State”) and now reporting on efforts in West Virginia in this issue, one can come to a number of conclusions.

First and foremost is that businesses looking to enter a certain state are going to see red flags if trial lawyers set up shop in that state and turn the medical business into a cash cow. That does appear to be the case in a number of states where lawyers and their plaintiffs are cashing in.

In Mississippi, for example, as neighboring states gave the thumbs up to tort reform laws in the 1990s, a larger number of out-of-state lawyers began heading for the friendlier courts of the Magnolia State, according to an American Insurance Association spokesperson. Reportedly more than 43 percent of those who gained admission to the state bar in the spring of 2003 were out-of-state lawyers.

When it comes to medical malpractice, if a doctor, hospital or nursing home is truly guilty of mismanaging a patient’s case, they should be held accountable for their mistakes.

To make things fair for everyone, however, laws for placing a statute of limitations and changes in other areas that have been abused need to be enacted.

Plaintiffs should be required to provide at least one medical expert who can determine that a physician did indeed commit malpractice before allowing a lawsuit to proceed.

And, as a Mississippi bill addressed, malpractice lawsuits should be restricted to only the county where the alleged malpractice occurred.

Having a free-for-all as it is now in some cases only will further keep businesses and professionals out of a state if they see that they may be entering a bad legal climate where they can be sued at a moment’s notice.

Along with our report on tort reform in West Virginia in the Jan. 26 issue, you will also find a one-on-one interview with Tennessee Department of Insurance and Commerce Commissioner Paula Flowers.

Finally, in our Parting Shots column, Don Evans, president of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, looks at what is on tap for the IIANC in 2004.

With this being just our second issue, I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface of possible story ideas in our coverage region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

If you have an idea for a story or want to get your message out to agents and companies, let us hear from you.

We hope you like your Insurance Journal Southeast issue, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Dave Thomas
Managing Editor
dthomas@insurancejournal.com

Topics Virginia Mississippi West Virginia