Tort reform is that wonderful euphemism for creating corporate immunity, and the movement has been spearheaded by Republicans saying that doctors are too afraid of medical malpractice suits to practice. To prove the point, Gov. Rick Perry has been forwarding the press a National Review article saying that Texas has licensed “11,000 physicians in the four years since tort reform” because, as ane fule no, the American medical system is drowning in nuisance malpractice cases.
Erm, apart from the fact that there has been no tide of malpractice litigation. According to a 2005 national long-term study by Public Citizen, between 1991 and 2004 (the year the Texas lege passed its last major tort reform package) malpractice suits basically stayed static and, in real terms, dropped.
In 1991, there were 13,687 claims for the whole US, but by 2004 this had dribbled up to 14,411, meaning the increase did not even keep up with the rise in total US population and actually dropped per head of population (5.41 payments per 100,000 residents in 1991, 4.91 in 2004.) The number of big-dollar payouts has dropped, total payouts have risen only slightly above inflation, and 75% of all payments are still for malpractice that resulted in major temporary or permanent injury, or in death.
This article appears in April 25 • 2008.
