KLRU
Tort Reform Dangerous
RECEIVED Mon., Aug. 18, 2003
To the Editor:
I write in support of Michael King's call for the defeat of Proposition 12 ["Capitol Chronicle," Aug. 15] and to present my thoughts on the dangers of tort reform prompted by the fact that my mother lives in a nursing home.
Tort reform has reared its ugly head in Tennessee, as it has in Texas, as it has in the nation's capital. All of us must stand firm against it. Proponents of tort reform would benefit from it, but victims of medical malpractice would most definitely not benefit.
Malpractice lawsuits are being blamed for the medical crisis, but they are not the problem. Insurance companies that demand outrageous sums of money for coverage are the problem.
Do those insurance company moguls really think that most of us don't know that their slippery business and accounting practices and lost investment income are to blame for their price-gouging of policyholders?
Placing a cap on malpractice lawsuits would have devastating consequences for nursing-home residents and their families. A civil suit is nearly always their last recourse to seek justice when abuse, neglect, and even homicide occurs in a nursing home.
Tort reform would blunt the effectiveness of civil suits, denying residents and their families even the lesser justice of a meaningful day in civil court. Even more to the point, it would remove the last incentive, which is money, that most nursing-home owners have to provide at least adequate care.
If a cap is to be placed, it should be placed on insurance premiums, not on malpractice lawsuits. Instead of trying to impose their will on the legal system with no regard for the well-being of old and disabled people in nursing homes, those self-serving insurance company nabobs should spend their time setting their financial house in order, and President Bush and legislators should work to bring the unregulated insurance industry to heel.
I write in support of Michael King's call for the defeat of Proposition 12 ["Capitol Chronicle," Aug. 15] and to present my thoughts on the dangers of tort reform prompted by the fact that my mother lives in a nursing home.
Tort reform has reared its ugly head in Tennessee, as it has in Texas, as it has in the nation's capital. All of us must stand firm against it. Proponents of tort reform would benefit from it, but victims of medical malpractice would most definitely not benefit.
Malpractice lawsuits are being blamed for the medical crisis, but they are not the problem. Insurance companies that demand outrageous sums of money for coverage are the problem.
Do those insurance company moguls really think that most of us don't know that their slippery business and accounting practices and lost investment income are to blame for their price-gouging of policyholders?
Placing a cap on malpractice lawsuits would have devastating consequences for nursing-home residents and their families. A civil suit is nearly always their last recourse to seek justice when abuse, neglect, and even homicide occurs in a nursing home.
Tort reform would blunt the effectiveness of civil suits, denying residents and their families even the lesser justice of a meaningful day in civil court. Even more to the point, it would remove the last incentive, which is money, that most nursing-home owners have to provide at least adequate care.
If a cap is to be placed, it should be placed on insurance premiums, not on malpractice lawsuits. Instead of trying to impose their will on the legal system with no regard for the well-being of old and disabled people in nursing homes, those self-serving insurance company nabobs should spend their time setting their financial house in order, and President Bush and legislators should work to bring the unregulated insurance industry to heel.
Jane Marshall
Clarksville, Tenn.
Clarksville, Tenn.
