CHRONICLING AMERICA'S HEALTH LITIGATION EMERGENCY brought to you by Sick Of Lawsuits

Volume VI	September 17, 2003
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"I am fed-up with the shameless tactics of some personal injury lawyers and the out-of-control litigation that endangers our access to healthcare. Our medical legal system is broken and patients are paying the price."
–Dr. Elizabeth Connell, Senior Counselor, Sick of Lawsuits

Lawsuit Abuse News

more lawsuit abuse news in Sick Of Lawsuits

Opinion Editorial by Louis W. Sullivan, MD; When Patients Take Medical Advice From Lawyers

"There are already many examples of what can happen when bad lawsuits are brought against good medicines…Tragically, because of our lawsuit culture, patients who would otherwise benefit from these helpful drugs may now be at greater risk by not having them." - Chicago Tribune, September 7, 2003

Medical Lawsuits Flood County Courts; Lawyers Rush Before Caps Take Effect

"Clerks in Harris County civil courts are trying to process a mountain of lawsuits that lawyers rushed to file before a law capping noneconomic awards in medical malpractice cases took effect Sept. 1...

Attorneys filed 1,069 medically related lawsuits between June 1, the day House Bill 4 was signed into law, and the Aug. 29 deadline, according to the clerk's office. That's nearly as many of that type of suit as usually are filed in an entire year." - Houston Chronicle, September 11, 2003

Battered Bayer May Find Realities in Tale of Torts

"[T]he true tale of Bayer's sale, withdrawal and defense of Baycol does highlight shortcomings in the plaintiff-friendly U.S. legal system…Two key court victories earlier this year in Mississippi and Texas, states corporate lawyers have dubbed 'judicial hell-holes' for companies, appear to vindicate the German chemicals-to-drugs conglomerate." - Dow Jones, September 11, 2003

What people are saying...

"I want to have a doctor in a hospital I can go to when I need healthcare. Unfortunately, some lawyers have turned medical liability suits into their own bread-and-butter income, soliciting patients who might have been harmed… I certainly think we have a crisis."

Texas State Senator Edie Lucio, "Valley at epicenter of debate on malpractice caps" Houston Chronicle, August 30, 2003

"Frivolous lawsuits increase the cost to the federal budget because of increases in Medicaid costs and Medicare costs and veterans' costs. Therefore, medical liability reform is a national issue that requires a national solution."

President George W. Bush, PR Newswire, September 4, 2003

Doctor Fights Lawsuit Abuse

Dr. Elizabeth Connell, an OB/GYN and former FDA advisory panel chairperson, has joined the Sick of Lawsuits Campaign as Senior Counselor. Dr. Connell has been involved in lawsuit abuse issues for years and wants Americans to know how frivolous lawsuits threaten our healthcare system by driving up costs, jeopardizing medical innovation, limiting access to healthcare and making doctors afraid to practice medicine.

Our Broken Healthcare Liability System – The Stats

$47 billion: increase in the costs of Medicare, CHIP, VA and federal employee healthcare as the result of medical litigation

500 percent: the size of increase in awards from medical liability suits in Texas over the last 10 years

19: number of states the American Medical Association identifies as currently facing a medical liability crisis

Source: Addressing the New Healthcare Crisis: Reforming the Medical Litigation System to Improve the Quality of Health Care, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 3, 2003; American Medical Association

For press inquiries, please contact Rossanna Salazar at: 1-800-476-1442

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Lawsuit Abuse News

What people are saying...

Doctor Fights Lawsuit Abuse

Our Broken Healthcare Liability System – The Stats