The Charlotte Observer refused to run this op/ed, so I am once again bypassing the traditional media and sharing the story by way of the new social media.
A new study, Jackpot Justice: The True Cost of America's Tort System, researched by the Pacific Research Institute and published earlier this week by the American Justice Partnership calculates the nation's tort system imposes a yearly "tort tax" of $9,827 for a family of four and raises health care spending in the U.S. by $124 billion.
Every patient, every business, every family, every nurse and doctor devotes scarce health-care dollars to a personal injury system that funnels 85 percent of jury awards to attorneys. According to the report, only 15 percent of the jury award goes to injured parties. And health consumers foot the bill in increased costs and defensive medicine, a practice aimed at avoiding liability by ordering expensive tests that are often unnecessary.
The authors of Jackpot Justice tell the story of a Washington State patient who suffered a broken jaw while working at a construction site. Despite a clear diagnosis, emergency room doctors fearing possible litigation ordered a battery of tests, including CT-scans and MRIs. The additional costs of these "lawsuit-prevention" tests - about $20,000.
The increase in health expenditures due to liability concerns adds 3.4 million Americans to the rolls of the uninsured.
Higher health care costs aren't only pushing more people into the ranks of the uninsured, the increased costs are forcing doctors to leave medical practice and increasing mortality rates.
Consider, for example, data the study cited from the Institutes of Medicine. It suggests that 114,000 people died due to excessive tort liability during the past two decades.
While health care remains a critical concern, the extent of litigation costs hits nearly every sector of the economic engine. Included deep within the business model of a car dealership, as a line item on the cost of goods sold, is the cost of litigation.
Last week, a Charlotte area automotive dealership owner defended himself in a civil case involving a car stolen from inside his locked service bay. At issue was whether the dealership acted properly as the custodian of its customer's car prior to the theft from inside the locked and secured service department. A $7,500 judgment on the line, the jury found in favor of the dealership.
So, the automotive dealership won its case. Jubilant victor right? Not quite. The winner spent over $10,000 on his defense. Guess who really pays for that victory. We do; it rolls into that annual "tort tax" of $9,827 that the average family of four pays.
This study clearly illustrates that legal reform is a consumer issue, not just a business problem. We cannot afford to let America continue to be a nation of the lawyers, by the lawyers and for the lawyers.
For more information, including video and audio interviews and to download the study, visit the American Justice Partnership. And see what others have written on the same subject: NAM says end jackpot justice now; Bill Hobbs; YouTube
