The article, "Tort abuse is costing California billions of dollars" is an extremely disturbing piece, not because it represents anything close to the truth, but precisely because it does not.
This article's use of fictions, exaggerations and scare tactics do nothing more than create public scorn for severely injured people, who sometimes must turn to the legal system.
Incredibly, the authors seem unaware that California already capped compensation in malpractice cases at the Draconian level of $250,000. The state did so 33 years ago and it has never been adjusted for inflation. The Rand Corp. found that the most significant impact of the cap falls on patients and families who are the most severely injured or killed as a result of gross medical negligence.
The exaggerated figures about the “costs” of the legal system are not costs of the tort system at all, but rather the costs associated with operating the incredibly wasteful and inefficient insurance industry. Most of the costs of the legal system are the result of corporate wrongdoing causing injury. Using falsehoods and rhetoric to generate contempt for our civil justice is an atrocious way to discuss these important issues.
Joanne Doroshow
Center for Justice & Democracy
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