[AlwaysLurking]

Could you source the information you posted....I know some is from the law firm site but the rest of that great stuff came from where?

[kcvl]

Radley Balko, "Malpractice Suits Driving Out Doctors", FoxNews.com, May 9). In National Review Online, Byron York


("The Trials of John Edwards", May 6). See also Eric Dyer, "Conservative detractors taking swipes at Edwards", Greensboro (N.C.) News-Record, May 12; Joshua Green, "John Edwards, Esq.", Washington Monthly, Oct. 2001; Ned Martle, "Starting Gun", New York, May 28, 2001


You can't buy John Edwards-- He is already bought!
www.ncgop.org


WHO IS FRED BARON?
Republican National Committee


John Edwards, Esq.
www.washingtonmonthly.com

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Malpractice Suits Driving Out Doctors
www.foxnews.com

[kcvl]

Sen. John Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat who made millions trying personal injury lawsuits against big companies before he joined Congress, said the malpractice caps would help the industry.

"It is striking that at a time when Wall Street is in shambles … the president has chosen to go to North Carolina to help insurance companies instead of the victims of bad medical care," said Edwards, a potential presidential contender in 2004.

His conference call was organized by the Democratic National Committee.

Edwards said malpractice premiums are not the problem, and contended lawsuits against doctors are not the most significant factor in rising insurance costs.

He was the plaintiffs' lawyer in 1997 when a North Carolina jury ordered an obstetrician and her employer to pay the parents of a retarded girl $23.2 million — the largest award ever for a medical malpractice case in the state.


President backs caps on malpractice lawsuits
PittsburghLIVE.com
Wednesday, December 4, 2002

[kcvl]

Citizens for a Sound Economy
September 4, 2001

The Rise of the Shark

Edwards earned so much from suits against doctors, insurers, and businesses that he largely self-financed his ’98 election. During the campaign, Edwards used the wealth derived from suing health care professionals to bolster his image: Edwards’ TV commercials proclaimed him "the people’s senator" because he refused to take contributions from political action committees.

Before becoming Senator, Edwards often lectured groups of budding trial lawyers on the need to dramatize a defendant’s net worth to the jury. In a memorable case in West Virginia, a trial lawyer employed this strategy in a way that would make Edwards proud: The trial lawyer asked the defendant, an ear-nose-and-throat specialist, how much he charged for a sinus procedure ($2000) and how many of those procedures the doctor performs in a year (about 200). The trial lawyer then wrote down the figures and multiplied them on a chalkboard in front of the jury. Needless to say, the jury awarded a sizable verdict.

During the Senate "Patients’ Bill of Rights" debate, many commentators thought it was unseemly for a former trial lawyer to lead the charge for a bill that was essentially written by trial lawyers. But once again, Edwards was able to deflect the criticism to emerge triumphant. In fact, one of Edwards’ most memorable Meet the Press appearances was a debate on the issue with Dr. Bill Frist of Tennessee. Like he routinely did in the courtroom, Senator Edwards denounced the profits of health insurers and second-guessed the doctor’s judgment. Edwards’s Patient’s Bill of Rights legislation passed the Senate weeks later.

On the Internet privacy issue, Edwards is again sponsoring legislation hand-tailored for trial lawyers. His bill would open all Web sites that fail to meet an arbitrarily defined privacy standard to class-action lawsuits. Each member of the class would be worth $2500 and the suit would be heard in the court "where the computer software concerned was installed or used," which means the state court of the trial lawyer’s choosing. If made law, the trial lawyers will be able to sink their teeth into millions in legal fees and no business will be safe from the class-action shakedown that will surely result.

What’s good for trial lawyers, however, is rarely good for consumers because they are the ones forced to pay for lawsuits through higher prices for everything from electronics, to insurance premiums, to doctors’ bills. The total cost of the Tort system in 2000 was estimated to be as high as $200 billion, and worse, this lawsuit abuse harms regular citizens with real grievances by clogging the courts with these frivolous suits.

Unqualified support from trial lawyers would make Edwards nearly unbeatable in the Democratic primary given the legal profession’s increasing influence within the party and its unrivaled political giving – over $250 million to Democrats during the past decade. With billions from tobacco settlements ready to be reinvested in politics, trial lawyers could play the role of kingmaker in 2004 with John Edwards as their king.

[kcvl]

Edwards to N.C. Farmers: Tobacco Buyout May be on Way
By Associated Press

Senator John Edwards say his colleagues may be ready to lend their support to the idea of buying out tobacco farmers' quotas.

Edwards spoke Tuesday at the annual meeting of the North Carolina Farm Bureau. He said he and Republican senator-elect Elizabeth Dole have already discussed what they can do to assure passage of a buyout bill when the new Congress convenes next month.

The federal buyout would pay farmers for surrendering government-granted allotments that dictate how much of the crop can be grown. A further step could mean abolishing minimum prices for tobacco and moving to a free market approach.

Edwards says a group of senators who have resisted supporting a buyout in the past have reconsidered and have indicated they're willing to seriously consider a tobacco buyout. He didn't identify those senators.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Last Updated: Dec 10, 2002