Posts tagged tort reform

• Michael Moore's Movie "Sicko" and Its Portrayal of US Healthcare

  Staff Writer | July 04, 2007 9:00 AM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Michael Moore released a new movie about the system of healthcare in the United States. In the movie, he portrays our healthcare system as one in crisis. Do you believe our healthcare system in this country provides the best quality of care to patients at a reasonable cost? Have you seen the movie Sicko? Do you think the movie accurately portrays problems with our healthcare system in...

• New Study Shows that Alleging too Many Frivolous Lawsuits are Political Tool and Not Reality

  Staff Writer | May 11, 2006 9:50 AM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Yesterday, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health released a study concerning an analysis of medical malpractice claims resolved by insurance carriers to determine what claims were supposedly frivolous and what claims had merit. The results are in and what a shock! The results showed that politicians make allegations about too many frivolous lawsuits without any factual support. ...

• State Farm Insurance CEO Pay Rises Eighty-Two Percent

  Staff Writer | March 20, 2007 10:00 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Congratulations to State Farm Insurance Company! Its profits rose almost sixty-four percent (64%) to $5.32 billion dollars last year from $3.24 billion dollars in 2005. In my opinion, during this time, I do not think that State Farm acted like very much of a good neighbor to victims of Hurricane Katrina or to other policy-holders who timely paid premiums thinking they would be protected in...

• How Would Tort Reform Affect the Quality of Emergency Healthcare?

  Staff Writer | June 14, 2007 7:00 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  In 1975, the California State Legislature passed the California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) which placed a cap on damages for medical malpractice claims. According to this Act, an injured plaintiff cannot recover non-economic losses in excess of $250,000. This tort reform statute has been in effect in California for thirty-two years. Because this California law has been in...

• Blue Cross of California Agrees to Settle Rescission Class Action Lawsuit

  Staff Writer | June 11, 2007 11:00 AM | 1 CommentPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Blue Cross of California recently entered a settlement agreement to resolve a class action lawsuit against the health insurer concerning the nature of its individual health insurance business practices. Blue Cross had been accused of using innocent mistakes on poorly worded insurance applications to rescind policies after insureds submitted costly claims. After concluding that it would lose...

• World Health Organization Reports that Medical Errors Affect One in Ten Patients

  Staff Writer | May 02, 2007 7:30 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Medical Malpractice
  

  According to the World Health Organization, healthcare errors affect one out of every ten patients worldwide. Based on this alarming trend, the World Health Organization prepared patient safety checklists to help professional healthcare providers avoid simple medical mistakes. By following the "Nine Patient Safety Solutions," the organization hopes to see substantial medical error rate...

• The Tort Reform Debate

  Staff Writer | June 20, 2007 12:00 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  I received a few responses to my recent posting about the California Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) which present different perspectives on an emotionally charged tort reform debate. Thank you to those who commented. Although we do not necessarily share the same opinions, I appreciate your willingness to post your thoughts and believe that we can respectfully disagree on some...

• America On-Line Version of Tort Reform Incomplete and Inaccurate

  Staff Writer | March 06, 2007 7:04 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  Today I discovered an interesting and entertaining page on the America On Line web site. Discussing so-called frivolous lawsuits, America On-Line lists as news several lawsuits without real attribution or legitimate discussion about corporate accountability for wrongdoing. Setting aside the issue of whether these lawsuits are in fact real or a political effort to encourage tort reform...

• The Number of Uninsured Continues to Rise

  Staff Writer | September 17, 2007 3:04 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Miscellaneous
  

  According to a recent article in the physician publication American Medical News, the number of Americans without health insurance has increased to forty-seven million people last year. By comparison, approximately thirty-eight million four hundred thousand Americans had no health insurance insurance in 2000. The American Medical News suggests that one of the reasons for such a large increase...

• Recent Safety Recalls Highlight Continuing Fight for Accountability

  Staff Writer | August 21, 2007 10:05 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ Category: Defective & Dangerous Products
  

  Have you heard about recent recalls of tainted pet food involving food safety? How about toy recalls involving possible lead paint exposure? Have you heard about even more toy recalls involving choking hazards for small children? How about laptop computer batteries recalled due to a fire hazards? After hearing about all of these recalls, do you believe that consumer products are safer or more...