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Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: Tort Reform Is Good For Texas
By Richard W. Weekly
August 6, 2013
“Greg Abbott, Texas attorney general and gubernatorial candidate, has a personal story that is inspirational to Texans, regardless of their politics. At the age of 26, shortly after graduating from law school, Abbott was hit by a falling tree while jogging and was left paralyzed from the waist down. …
“Abbott has been outspoken in his support for the tort reforms that have reined in the lawsuit abuses that have plagued Texas. Abbott knows these reforms do not deny any Texan the right to access our courts for legal redress of wrongs or injuries like those he suffered. None of us knows, from one day to the next, when we may need to bring a lawsuit or defend ourselves against one. The goal of tort reform in Texas has always been to create and maintain a fair, honest and predictable civil justice system that balances the rights of both plaintiffs and defendants. Every lawsuit reform that has been passed in Texas, beginning in 1995, has assured those rights. …
“In the face of this steadfast public opinion, some trial lawyers persist in pushing misinformation about how tort reform works. Abbott’s gubernatorial run provides an opening for them to suggest that he somehow received a settlement that other Texans could not receive.
“This simply isn’t true.
“Texans can and do recover damages for legitimate claims every day. The only caps on damages that have been enacted in Texas are a reasonable cap on so-called punitive damages and also a cap on non-economic damages (such as mental anguish) in medical liability cases only. In medical liability cases, a plaintiff can recover all economic damages, without limit, including past and future lost wages and all medical expenses, plus up to $750,000 for non-economic damages. The Texas medical liability reforms that were enacted in 2003 stopped the exodus of doctors who were leaving the state or retiring because of high medical liability insurance costs. The result has been improved access to high-quality health care throughout the state, and similar caps have now been enacted in many other states. …
“The strength of the state’s economy, our position as the country’s leading job creator, and continued business expansion and innovation are all a result of the commitment of state leaders and lawmakers to tort reform and the fairness and balance it brings to our civil courts. Abbott and other state officeholders should be commended for the leadership on this critical issue over the past two decades.”
Click here to read the full op-ed.