In a move that comes as no surprise to those that follow tort “reform” and its thinly-disguised efforts to prevent Plaintiffs from bringing their claims, the state of Texas recently enacted further tort “reform” – moving its law closer to the loser-pays system used in much of Europe. The new Texas law requires a plaintiff… Read More
AMA Uses Bad “Facts” to Support Bad Law – H.R. 5
As we have previously noted, the leadership in the Federal House of Representatives has now moved to undo the recently-passed federal healthcare reform, and replace it with legislation designed solely to protect doctors and prevent the victims of medical malpractice from fully recovering for the harm they suffer. The American Medical Association has now come… Read More
Patient Rights Advocates Strongly Oppose HR 5
The experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have repeatedly spoken out against HR 5, the anti-patient legislation currently pending in the U.S. House of Representatives. Last week in Roll Call, a widely read publication in Washington, DC, other patient rights advocates spoke out strongly against the bill as well. HR 5 bears the… Read More
States Express Bipartisan Opposition to Federal Tort Reform
Our top medical malpractice attorneys have often spoken out against so-called “tort reform.” These “reforms” generally have little to no impact on the costs of medical care or medical malpractice insurance premiums, while simultaneously taking away the rights and remedies of the victims of medical malpractice. We are fiercely opposed to proposals where, in the… Read More
Misinformation Key to Tort Reformers
Our medical malpractice attorneys in Chicago have often written about the falsehoods and misinformation behind the movement for so-called “tort reform.” One area of misinformation has gotten some play recently: the idea of “defensive medicine.” Defensive medicine is a term coined by proponents of “tort reform” to describe the supposed overuse of unnecessary or unjustified… Read More
Texas Proves that Tort Reform Harms Patients
The medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have often voiced our objection to so-called “tort reform”: legislation intended to reduce medical insurance companies’ liability exposure by reducing the amount of money that the victims of malpractice can recover. Such “reforms” are simply unjust. In effect, a legislature passing such “reforms” says to the victims… Read More
Negligent Doctors Injure the Wrong Victim This Time
Even those with far less experience than the top Chicago medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have heard egregious examples of medical malpractice: Surgery performed on the wrong body part. Misdiagnosed cancer. Delayed labor and delivery causing permanent birth injuries. The list goes on. It’s easy to call for “tort reform” when you or… Read More
Chicago Tribune Softens Stance on Medical Malpractice and “Tort Reform”
As the leading journalistic and editorial voice of the people of Illinois, the Chicago Tribune has tremendous influence over the attitudes, laws, and policies of our state. As such, the Chicago medical malpractice attorneys of Passen & Powell have long been concerned with the Tribune’s editorial position on issues of medical malpractice and tort reform. … Read More
One Cause of High Medical Malpractice Insurance Premiums
Over the years, Americans have become used to the constant cry of proponents of tort “reform”: medical malpractice insurance premiums are too high, they are driving the increase in medical costs, and our society thus must punish medical malpractice attorneys and deny justice to their clients to protect doctors and the public. At first blush,… Read More
“Tort Reform” Masks Racial Prejudice
The Chicago personal injury attorneys of Passen & Powell have long railed against the misguided efforts known as “tort reform.” Now, a provocative new article in the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy discusses, for the first time, the racism lurking behind many so-called “tort reforms.” The article, by Joanne Doroshow and Amy Widman… Read More