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CHRONICLING AMERICA'S HEALTH LITIGATION EMERGENCY
brought to you by Sick Of Lawsuits
 Volume VIII October 31, 2003 

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"We must improve our healthcare system through liability reform. America's doctors should be able to spend their time healing patients, instead of fighting off frivolous lawsuits. The lawsuit culture makes everyone pay more for healthcare." - Vice President Dick Cheney, www.whitehouse.gov, Columbus, MS, October 28, 2003


Lawsuit Abuse News

more lawsuit abuse news in Sick Of Lawsuits

Letter to the Editor by Linda Ransom: First Thing We Do, Let's Fight All the Lawyers

"Science has vindicated silicone. But the lawyers and their associates are still making money at the expense of the real 'victims', people who need lifesaving devices. Research into new and better products has been affected…Legislators must have the courage to bring back justice in the legal system for everyone." The Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2003

Liability Issues Lead to Loss of Neurology Services

"Neurologists are choosing not to treat patients with complex problems and are discontinuing services because of liability issues, according to a June 3, 2003 news release from the American Academy of Neurology." AORN Journal, October 1, 2003

Philadelphia Judge Dismisses Alka-Seltzer Suit Due to Out-of-State Claims

"A Philadelphia judge has begun tossing out lawsuits by people who said they suffered strokes after taking Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine, saying the claims should be dealt with in other states… 'Most of those cases, like this one, involve out-of-state plaintiffs who chose to file (in Philadelphia) for no apparent reason other than the fact that their attorneys have their offices here,' [Judge] Ackerman wrote in the case of Larry Hunter, of Seattle… In an opinion filed late last week, Ackerman said that while the court is 'an admitted leader in the mass tort pharmaceutical area,' it is in danger of becoming clogged with suits that could, and probably should, be tried elsewhere." Associated Press, October 1, 2003

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Are you a victim of frivolous lawsuits? Has a frivolous lawsuit affected your access to healthcare or driven your doctor out of town? Are personal injury lawyer ads scaring you away from taking medications or seeing a doctor? If so, we want to hear from you. Visit us at www.SickOfLawsuits.org to share your story.

Legislative Update

Federal
Senate Democrats narrowly blocked a bill that would have forced class-action lawsuits out of state courts and into the federal judiciary. The bill also included provisions for placing mass tort suits involving personal injury in federal courts. Supporters were one vote short of the 60 required to take up the bill in the Senate. The New York Times, October 23, 2003

Our Broken Healthcare Liability System


The Stats


  • 84%: percentage of Americans who believe the availability and quality of healthcare is threatened because of rising medical liability costs (Survey by Wirthlin Worldwide for the Health Coalition on Liability and Access in February, 2003)

  • one: number of votes short of the 60 needed to allow the U.S. Senate to address class-action reform legislation (The New York Times, October 23, 2003)

  • $200 billion: annual total tort costs - more than 2% of America's gross domestic product (Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, U.S. Tort Costs: 2002 Update, Trends and Findings on the costs of the U.S. Tort System 19, Feb. 2003)

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

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