Tort Reform Now!

...Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards made his millions suing doctors for procedures that are inherently risky, and greatly increased jury awards by also suing nurses, anesthesiologists, hospitals and anyone else he could think of. The following words are from one doctor:

"The John Edwards we know crushed [obstetrics, gynecology] and neurosurgery in North Carolina," said Dr. Craig VanDerVeer, a Charlotte neurosurgeon. "As a result, thousands of patients lost their health care."

Following are some statistics on medical malpractice liability from the PRI report:

• Approximately $124 billion dollars is spent annually by the health care profession to avoid medical liability.
• About $30 billion more is spent on direct liability lawsuit costs.
• Malpractice liability cost is 1 percent of GDP and increases the cost of healthcare by approximately 7 percent.
• These added costs deny health insurance coverage to between 2.4 and 4.3 million people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

-- James Simpson, "Manufactured Health Care Crisis"