Word: tort
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...President Bush and other Republicans, whose campaigns are supported by doctors and insurance firms, endorse such legislation, and the House of Representatives has passed a bill along those lines. But plaintiffs' lawyers, who contribute heavily to the campaigns of Democrats, are lobbying their friends in the Senate, and national "tort reform" may remain more of a rallying cry than a real prospect...
...Angeles--based company has retreated to California, pulling out of the malpractice business in other states. Says Zuk: "We knew that there was a risk when you go into a state without tort reform"--limits placed on personal-injury lawsuits and damages. "We thought the rates were sufficient, so we went with it. Today I know what's going on around the country. I won't go into Texas, Florida or any of the states I pulled back from until there's some semblance of tort reform...
...everyone accepts that link. "In theory, tort reform would have an impact on premiums. In reality, that has not been the case," says Martin Weiss, chairman of Weiss Ratings, an independent insurance-rating agency in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. In a study published this week, Weiss Ratings found that in states without caps on noneconomic damages, median annual premiums for standard medical-malpractice coverage rose 36% between 1991 and 2002. But in states with caps, premiums rose even more--48%. In the two groups of states, median 2002 premiums were about the same. Weiss found nine states with flat...
...Both sides in the debate, horns locked, have succeeded mainly in confusing the issues. Trial lawyers talk a lot about the "right to sue" when something goes wrong. But what about the right of doctors to a system of justice that reliably distinguishes between right and wrong? Meanwhile, the tort reform pushed by doctors is like a bandage on a mortal wound. Placing limits on discretionary "noneconomic" damages may stem today's bleeding and is certainly one element of controlling costs--$1 million to a plaintiff is $1 million less to take care of the rest of us. But merely...
...You’re going to have everything from real estate to tort matters, occasionally perhaps even a criminal matter of some sort,” said Holder, now a partner at Washington law firm Covington and Burling. “I’d think you’d be looking for someone who’s very accomplished but also someone who’d be familiar with a wide range of subject areas...