|
|
|
 |
|
Home / Washington Business - March/April 2005 / President's Message: Finally - Meaningful Tort Reform |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
President's Message: Finally - Meaningful Tort Reform |
|
|
|
Written On: March/April 2005 |
|
|
|
Written By: By Don C. Brunell, AWB President |
|
|
|
Finally! The United States Senate has at last broken the logjam that prevented passage of class-action lawsuit abuse reforms.
On February 10 the Senate passed S.5 — the Class Action Fairness Act — on a bi-partisan vote of 72-26, with Washington’s Maria Cantwell voting yes and Patty Murray voting no. That was a welcome turnabout for Cantwell because in 2003 and 2004 she and Murray both voted to prevent this legislation from coming to the Senate floor for a vote.
In explaining her support, Sen. Cantwell called the measure, “...a balanced bill that ensures the injured their day in court, and creates a more efficient, just and effective class-action system.”
The class action bill is merely the first step toward restoring fairness and equity in our country’s courts. It thwarts “venue shopping,” where enterprising personal-injury lawyers search out the friendliest states in which to file their lawsuits. In addition, it reforms so-called “coupon settlements” where thousands of plaintiffs receive coupons while the lawyers reap millions in attorneys’ fees. In some settlements, plaintiffs actually lose money!
While the spin doctors for the trial lawyers claim that S.5 is a win for “big business,” they fail to point out that the current class-action system created a whole new class of multi-millionaires —THEM! They are the ones reaping windfall profits from the existing legal system.
S.5 doesn’t prevent class action lawsuits, it simply puts them in federal court and focuses on truly bad companies whose products or services have harmed a lot of people. By sending the suits to federal court, the intent is to ensure that the injured parties receive more of the compensation they deserve.
Now that class-action reform has been signed by President George W. Bush, Congress must turn its attention to fixing medical malpractice and asbestos lawsuit abuse. In our state, the issue of medical malpractice may be sent to the voters, because the doctors and personal injury lawyers have prepared dueling initiatives that may be on the ballot in November.
AWB is spending a great deal of time working on legislation to reform our state and federal legal systems. Along with former Gov. Booth Gardner, we have led our state’s coalition. In fact, you have to go back to 1986 when Gardner was governor to find the last time lawsuit reform happened in Washington.
How Much Has Changed?
In 1986, the U.S. population was 241 million people and lawsuits cost the nation a little more than $100 million a year. By 2003, the U.S. population had increased 20 percent, but lawsuits costs had increased by 145 percent! That means that lawsuit costs are increasing at a rate seven times faster than the population.
Why should we care? Because when those costs are broken down, it means each of us pays an extra $845 a year because of lawsuits.
The worst offenders are medical malpractice lawyers. Think about it this way. In 1975, their lawsuits added $5 to your annual doctor bill. Today, it’s nearly $100. So when the Congress and our state Legislature talk about controlling health care costs, they cannot ignore the impact of rising litigation costs.
Congress has taken a bold first step in addressing the plague of lawsuit abuse that is wreaking havoc on our economy. Our state lawmakers should follow in their footsteps.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
