Tort reform kills people.

That is a strong statement, but unfortunately, one that is accurate in products liability and medical malpractice cases. According to a recent New York Times article, at least 42 people died as a result of a decision by General Motors to leave vehicles with faulty ignition switches on the road. The article describes how two separate families in Wisconsin were unable to find attorneys willing to sue GM for the deaths of their teenage daughters because of the $350,000.00 cap on damages set by Wisconsin law. The expenses of trial would be nearly that much, if not more, according to the families. The Times article stated that “the defect’s public disclosure — and the recall of 2.2 million G.M. vehicles in the United States — was set in motion by a lawsuit filed in Georgia, a state that does not place strict caps on damages in product liability lawsuits.” Without the successful lawsuit, which led to the recall, many more people may have died from the decision by GM to leave the faulty vehicles on the road.

The same logic often holds true in medical malpractice claims, where low damage caps have prevented meritorious lawsuits from being filed. The end result of the caps is that negligent health care providers have been allowed to continue practicing, and perhaps making the same errors, without acknowledging the harm to their patients. The Missouri Supreme Court declared medical malpractice caps unconstitutional, holding that they violate the right to trial by jury. The Missouri legislature plans to take up new medical malpractice caps this session. The argument for caps is that it will lower medical malpractice insurance premiums for physicians. This argument has repeatedly been shown to be false. The caps only prevent injured individuals from receiving full compensation for their loss.

We urge you to contact your state representative or senator to let them know that you are opposed to damage caps in any form.