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Examples of the Involvement and Funding of Right-Wing Organizations That Advocate Tort Reform

Commonweal Institute report: The Attack on Trial Lawyers and Tort Law

ISSUE: Tort Reform

Tort Reform

From Cursor board member Dave Johnson's The Attack on Trial Lawyers:

This Commonweal Institute Report, The Attack on Trial Lawyers and Tort Law, shows that, in addition to the expected corporate-front organizations like the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), the "tort reform" movement is ideologically associated with a network of organizations, such as the Washington Legal Foundation, the Cato Institute and the American Legislative Exchange Council, which are part of what they themselves call the "conservative movement." This web of "movement" organizations receives general operating support, project grants, and strategic guidance from a core group of ideological far-right-wing foundations that has been working for nearly thirty years to alter public attitudes and move the national agenda to the right.

Also see Mr. Johnson's report for Media Transparency, Lowering the Bar: The conservative movement's well-funded attacks on trial lawyers.

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Dave Johnson
MediaTransparency.org
November 28, 2003

Lowering the Bar

We've all heard the story of the woman who spilled hot coffee from a fast food joint in her lap, then sued the restaurant, and was subsequently awarded a huge sum of money for a seemingly stupid act. This is only one of many supposed examples of "out-of-control" lawsuits and outrageous damage awards that are causing our legal system to collapse, our businesses to fold, and our insurance rates to skyrocket. Right?

Maybe not. It turns out that these popular stories about lawsuits and their effects are almost always misleading, distorted, or outright lies. Our legal system is not collapsing, lawsuits are not causing businesses to fold, and damage awards are not why insurance rates are rising.

Read the full report >
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Myron Levin
Los Angeles Times
August 13, 2005

Legal Urban Legends Hold Sway

Tall tales of outrageous jury awards have helped bolster business-led campaigns to overhaul the civil justice system

Merv Grazinski set his Winnebago on cruise control, slid away from the wheel and went back to fix a cup of coffee.

You can guess what happened next: The rudderless, driverless Winnebago crashed. Grazinski blamed the manufacturer for not warning against such a maneuver in the owner's manual. He sued and won $1.75 million.

His jackpot would seem to erase any doubt that the legal system has lost its mind. Indeed, the Grazinski case has been cited often as evidence of the need to limit lawsuits and jury awards.

There's just one problem: The story is a complete fabrication.

Read the full report >

NY Times
July 6, 2005

Study Says Malpractice Payouts Aren't Rising

A study to be released today by the Center for Justice and Democracy...compiled from regulatory filings by insurers to state regulators, finds that net claims for medical malpractice paid by 15 leading insurance companies have remained flat over the last five years, while net premiums have surged 120 percent.

Read the full report >

Liz Kowalczyk
Boston Globe
May 31, 2005

Rising doctors' premiums not due to lawsuit awards

Study suggests insurers raise rates to make up for investment declines

Re-igniting the medical malpractice overhaul debate, a new study by Dartmouth College researchers suggests that huge jury awards and financial settlements for injured patients have not caused the explosive increase in doctors' insurance premiums. The researchers said a more likely explanation for the escalation is that malpractice insurance companies have raised doctors' premiums to compensate for falling investment returns.

Also see:

HealthAffairs.org: Malpractice Crisis Under The Microscope: New Health Affairs Study Finds That Malpractice Payouts Have Not Grown Substantially

Read the full report >

Dwight Meredith
December 19, 2004

Scare Tactics

The tort reform lobby and the media have chosen to scare the bejesus out of the public to promote a "tort reform" agenda. What is worse, they continually lie to generate the fear.

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American Prospect
August 25, 2004

Now, Smearing the Trial Lawyers

You're about to see a concentrated campaign against John Edwards' colleagues. Don't buy into it

Read the full report >