A few weeks ago, the Center for American Progress published a short video detailing the deleterious effects tort reform has on public safety in Texas. Here’s what they had to say about their video:
“A new video from Legal Progress, the legal policy program at the Center for American Progress, documents the damaging effects of Texas’ 2003 tort reform legislation, which makes it virtually impossible for emergency room patients to hold hospitals accountable for medical malpractice. The Texas Medical Malpractice & Tort Reform Act of 2003 placed an arbitrary limit on the damages juries could award to injured plaintiffs, and it required plaintiffs injured in emergency rooms to prove that a defendant showed “willful and wanton negligence” while administrating care. In other words, plaintiffs must prove that doctors and nurses intentionally injured them – a near-impossible standard for injured patients. Legal liability once gave Texas hospitals a strong incentive to protect emergency-room patients from negligence, but the Texas legislature has changed all that.”
For more information on tort reform, follow the links below:
Legal Reader – More Bogus Arguments by Proponents of Tort Reform
Legal Reader – Three Myths about Tort Reform
Legal Reader – Tort “Reformers” Bitten by Tort “Reform”
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