Wash. Post columnist relied on dubious study to promote tort reform

[rodeodance]

good god, where do folks go to get information when these kind of stuff in the major newspapers!!


http://mediamatters.org/items/printable/200501100008


Wash. Post columnist relied on dubious study to promote tort reform

In a January 10 column arguing that "he tort system is an abomination," Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby relied on data from a highly questionable study paid for by tort reform advocates. He also made a dubious comparison between the "tort system" and Medicare, made vague reference to other unidentified "studies," and falsely equated "pain and suffering" with "emotional distress."

In arguing that the "tort system" costs too much and that the money goes to the wrong people, Mallaby wrote:

The most complete study of the tort system's cost comes from the consulting firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin. Tillinghast's clients are mainly insurers, which are at loggerheads with the trial bar, so you may mistrust its data. Nonetheless, Tillinghast has published seven updates to its original 1985 study, refining its methodology along the way. Its numbers are the best available. And they are stunning.

In 2003, according to Tillinghast, the tort system cost $246 billion -- meaning that the average American paid $845 for it via more expensive goods and services. But the really shocking thing is where the billions went. Injured plaintiffs -- the fabled little guys for whom the system is supposedly designed -- got less than half the money.

According to Tillinghast's 2002 data, plaintiffs' lawyers swallowed 19 percent of the $233 billion. Defense lawyers pocketed an additional 14 percent, and other administrative costs, mainly at insurance firms, accounted for a further 21 percent. The legal-administrative complex thus guzzled fully 54 percent of the money in the tort system, or $126 billion. ......

[Skittles]

1. DID THEY RELY ON FEDERAL MONEY TOO

f***ing ASK THEM IF THEY ARE ON THE BUSH PAYROLL

[Seldona]

2. I wonder how much the errors of these Doctors actually cost

the victims in lifetime earnings?

I mean they want to cap awards at 250k? What happens if you are unable to work for the rest of your life based on the negligence of a medical professional?

Not to mention the fact that you may live the rest of your life in pain that would make a grown man cry.

I know the 250k cap is on pain and suffering, but these rewards that seem outrageous do not look so bad once one considers that many of these people will spend the rest of their lives living on them.

Just my two cents.

[noamnety]

3. a better idea

Let's cap insurance execs' salary and bonuses at $250,000.

And perhaps we should find out how much Bush paid the columnist.

[tsuki]

4. Was the report written on the backs of dollar bills?