Pho’s USA Today Piece Shows Range of Opportunities for Tort Reform

Today’s USA Today op-ed by Kevin Pho, a New Hampshire-based doctor and blogger, demonstrates that when it comes to eliminating the amoral scramble for riches in medical liability litigation, reformers have many different opportunities. Worthy ideas like caps on lawyers’ contingency fees, limits on noneconomic damages, and a loser-pays awards system need to get more consideration as health care reform advances through Congress, but some of Dr. Pho’s ideas also deserve attention.

One idea would shift the burden of deciding medical liability cases away from conventional juries and onto newly formed special health courts. This would help the legal system fulfill its crucial duty to promptly compensate truly wronged patients. Another proposal would adopt the “no-fault” model in use in New Zealand and Sweden, which swiftly compensates patients who have suffered without arbitrarily deeming medical professionals culpable.

The time for these and other ideas is now. Current discussions over health-care reform provide lawmakers the best chance they may see in many years to wrest the control of malpractice law from greedy trial lawyers.

Pho’s editorial shows doctors are willing to put patients before their own personal interests. Congress should follow suit and put patients’ best interests before those of selfish attorneys.

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