Tort reform
In the legal arena, tort reform is a debatable issue which is connected with personal injury lawsuit. Tort litigation is an issue which has introduced the debate in that for many years, business have experienced high liability insurance premiums, low corporate profit, low productivity, poor risk management and lack of development. In addition, high tort costs have negatively impacted the economy. Advocates of tort reform argue that the system will eliminate the oppressive tax which is brought by excessive damage awards. Opponents argue that the system will rely on a blanket approach and will offer unfair judgment. In addition, they argue the process will hinder effective investigation on malpractice damage. It is important to understand that tort reform plays a significant role in creating and implementing common law rules which dissuades the offensive jury verdicts. Since the current tort system is associated with many problems, tort reform is a significant process which will eliminate unreasonable litigation.
Unreasonable lawsuits are a big problem facing the civil justice system. Many plaintiffs have been involved in cases where they present frivolous lawsuit, astronomical punitive damages and more. This issue is a significant concern because the society or the defendants are culturally disempowered and unable to express their actions. For example, Texas has been involved with many tort cases and this has raised the need for tort reform. In Texas, many plaintiffs bring frivolous matters which increase lawsuits Daniels, (Stephen & Joanne, 2). Tort reform is also important in order to eliminate the litigation lottery. The latter means that plaintiffs present frivolous matters for personal gain. This leads to ‘jackpot justice’- plaintiffs are compensated with Jumbo verdicts.
Other prong is that tort reform is useful in protecting business from paying high malpractice insurance rates. Given that there are many cases of unreasonable litigation, business face outrageous insurance premiums which are accused by undeserving parties and greedy plaintiffs. For example, healthcare industry faces big challenges due to unreasonable litigation. Currently, plaintiffs who present healthcare issues use tort litigation as a defensive medicine (Christensen, 262). This creates judicial hellholes where physicians are unwilling to work and lose morale due to high insurance premiums, judicial verdicts and high health care costs. Tort reform will eliminate the undeserving parties such as injured plaintiffs and attorneys who fill lawsuits without justification. In current civil justice system, plaintiffs present tort litigation to the legal system to make profit. Note that trial lawyers are also greedy and they work for the purpose of making money but not helping people (Christensen, 263).
Since tort reform will involve damage caps, the process will reduce unreasonable litigation through placing a limit on liabilities, non-economic damage and joint damage (Pierce, 923). This will play a significant in reducing malpractice premiums. Other important point is that tort reform will modify the liability structure and create strict rules on compensation.
Finally, tort reform is the best way to impede lawyers from becoming wealth and profitable. It will create a public relation effort where the participants will ensure that lawyers’ practices are not financially precarious (Vairo, 4). Court-centered litigation will reduce through implementing legal safeguards. The important thing with tort reform is that it will identify and address intentional torts, negligence and strict liability (Vairo, 4). On the same note, plaintiffs will be forced to provide evidence of wrong doing and surmount legal defense. The rules will hinder the plaintiffs from filing illegal lawsuit, plaintiffs will not obtain jury trial and there will be restrictions on money to be compensated.
Work cited
Ruschmann, Paul, and Alan Marzilli. Tort Reform. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2006. Internet
resource.
Daniels, Stephen and Joanne Martin. "Where Have All the Cases Gone? The Strange Success of Tort
Reform Revisited." Emory Law Journal, vol. 65, no. 6, July 2016, pp. 1445-1490. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=116772697&site=ehost-
live.
Christensen, Roland. "Behind the Curtain of Tort Reform." Brigham Young University Law Review, vol.
2016, no. 1, Aug. 2016, pp. 261-294. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=117565132&site=ehost-live.
Pierce, Richard. "Institutional Aspects of Tort Reform." California Law Review, vol. 73, no. 3, May 1985,
- 917. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=6770689&site=ehost-live.
Vairo, Georgene. "The Role of Influence in the Arc of Tort "Reform." Emory Law Journal, vol. 65, no. 6,
July 2016, pp. 1741-1753. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=116772703&site=ehost-live.
