The dirty little secret of medical liability insurance is that only 30% of the premiums go to (allegedly) injured plaintiffs. The trial lawyers get their 30-40% of course. But the costs of the DEFENSE attorneys is equal to the payouts to the plaintiffs attorneys!!
God forbid Mr. Florio's democrats would support authentic tort reform to lower the income of their lawyer buddies.
The democrats will enrich themselves (or at least their trial lawyer constituency), destroy the trauma and obstetrical system, and have the SHAMELESS gall to demand a federal takeover and universal health system to "correct" the non-functional, lawyer-ravaged system. I am absoluely convinced this will be lawyer-politician Hillary's agenda when the time comes.
I think that the trial lawyers are only too happy to be a part of the democrat effort to destroy the health care system, so that the democrats will then trot themselves out of the shadows to claim to be saviors!. I strongly believe that national health care will be the cornerstone to a Hillary Clinton campaign!!
One maddening thing (for the docs) about the med malpractice industry is that the suits and payouts generally bear no relationship to competence. Thus doctors who agree see the most high risk (sickest) patients are the most likely to be sued. Very sick patients are more likely to have adverse outcomes. Another example is the gold mine (for crooked lawyers) who make mega-bucks off of neurosurgeons (brain injury almost always has some residual brain damage, by definition) and obstetricans (congenital blameless birth defects equals lawyer yachts and French Riviera condos).
My recommendations for this problem and for the unregulated lawyer plague that damages all of our lives in so many ways? The world would be a better place with:
1) Loser Pays.
2) Massive tort reform on a unprecedented level
3) Widespread empowerment of paralegals for independent practice
4) An end to punitive damages.
5) An end to bogus class action suits.
6) Outlawing contingency fees (This is considered grossly unethical and is completely illegal in almost all other democracies).
7) Lawyers forbidden from running from office. They are agents of the judiciary. Practicing attorneys violate The Separation of Powers when they enrich their lawyer industry at public suffering
8) Most important: a total disempowerment of the bar associations. Lawyer discipline by true consumer control. Like any other industry.
First, the jury selection process stinks - perhaps it needs to be completely randomized such that it truly represents a cross-section of American citizens rather than those that lawyers feel they can manipulate the easiest with anecdote and emotional stories.
Second, I'd like to see more than a simple majority required for judgement, particularly when punishment is involved. I mean think about it - if someone violates the law and is punished in criminal court, there needs to be a unanamous decision based on there being no 'reasonable doubt' that the suspect is guilty. But punative damages in civil (??) court only requires a simple majority to dish out punishment for a perceived crime that most likely wasn't even illegal.
I'd also like to see some set retribution amounts, cast in stone, to deal with common medical mistakes/mishaps. I mean, things are going to happen occasionally and people need to be made whole, but its crazy to enrich the legal profession in a lot of cases for stuff that can easily be paid for without consulting a lawyer.