Texas Study Casts Doubt on Need for Tort Reform

According to Reuters, "a study released on Thursday cast doubt on whether recent "tort reform" in Texas that limited payouts in medical malpractice lawsuits and is similar to what President Bush wants nationally was really needed.

The study looked at Texas Department of Insurance records dating back to 1988 and found claims that medical costs were soaring because of too many malpractice lawsuits, the supposed reason for the reform, were not true...

In 2003, in response to the alleged litigation crisis, Texas passed a law placing a $250,000 cap on certain damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

But the study found that insurance payouts, jury awards in malpractice lawsuits and costs of legal defense had changed little between 1988 and 2002.

The only thing that jumped, they said, was the cost of malpractice insurance, which rose 135 percent from 1999 to 2003 likely because of financial pressures that had nothing to do with litigation. "

Bush, who back the tort reform law as governor of Texas, is now calling for a federal tort reform law.

The truth is, like the recent class-action suit reform, the only thing this serves to do is make sure these people only have to pay chump change to those they hurt. It's the Republican way.