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Skriven 2005-01-05 23:33:10 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0501052) for Wed, 2005 Jan 5
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Legal Reform: The High Costs of Lawsuit Abuse
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2005

Legal Reform: The High Costs of Lawsuit Abuse



Today's Presidential Action
  þ Today, President Bush highlighted the need for common-sense medical
    liability reform to protect patients, to stop the sky-rocketing costs
    associated with frivolous lawsuits, to make health care more affordable
    and accessible for all Americans, and to keep necessary services in
    communities that need them most.
  þ The President's plan will help reduce the rising cost of health care
    while improving quality and safety. President Bush's framework for
    addressing the medical liability crisis in America seeks to make health
    care more affordable and accessible for all Americans by making the
    medical liability system more stable and predictable, and to protect
    patients by reducing the disincentives for reporting medical errors and
    complications.
  þ The President also stressed the need for class action lawsuit reform
    and asbestos litigation reform, and he urged Congress to enact proposed
    reforms. Class action lawsuits are an important part of the U.S. legal
    system. However, when the ability to bring a class action lawsuit is
    abused, it truly harms injured parties and undermines the American
    judicial system. The growing problem of asbestos litigation is
    similarly hurting workers, bankrupting businesses, and delaying relief
    for the truly sick claimants.

Background on Today's Presidential Action

The costs of litigation per person in the United States are far higher than
in any other major industrialized nation in the world. Lawsuit costs have
risen substantially over the past several decades, and a significant part
of the costs from lawsuits goes to paying lawyers' fees and transaction
costs -- not to the injured parties. This explosion in litigation is
creating a logjam in America's civil courts and threatening jobs across
America. Small businesses spend, on average, about $150,000 per year on
litigation expenses. The President is urging Congress to pass legislation
that reduces the burden of frivolous lawsuits on our economy. President
Bush supports enactment of medical liability reform, class action lawsuit
reform, and asbestos litigation reform to expedite resolutions and curb the
costs of lawsuits for all Americans.

Curbing Lawsuit Abuse with Needed Medical Liability Reform
  þ Frivolous lawsuits and excessive jury awards are driving many health
    care providers out of communities and forcing doctors to practice
    overly defensive medicine. This reduces access to medically necessary
    services and raises the costs of health care for all. The President has
    proposed proven reforms, such as common-sense limits on non-economic
    damages, to make the medical liability system more fair, predictable,
    and timely.
  þ The President's framework for addressing the medical liability crisis
    includes:
      þ Securing the ability of injured patients to get quick, unlimited
        compensation for their "economic losses," including the loss of
        ability to provide unpaid services like care for children or
        parents;
      þ Ensuring recoveries for non-economic damages do not exceed a
        reasonable amount ($250,000);
      þ Reserving punitive damages for egregious cases where they are
        justified, and limiting damages to reasonable amounts;
      þ Providing for payments of judgments over time rather than in a
        single lump sum, to ensure that appropriate payments are made when
        patients need them;
      þ Ensuring that old cases cannot be brought to court years after an
        event; and
      þ Providing that defendants pay judgments in proportion to their
        fault.

Returning Justice to the Truly Injured with Class Action Reform
  þ The President supports class action reforms to limit the abuse of
    large, nationwide class action cases and return justice to the truly
    injured parties. Class action lawsuits are an important part of the
    U.S. legal system. However, the class action system is heavily abused,
    which in turn does not benefit injured parties and undermines the
    American judicial system. In particular, injured parties often receive
    awards of little or no value while lawyers receive large fees. The
    proposed class action reform legislation recognizes that large
    interstate class action lawsuits deserve Federal court access because
    they typically affect more citizens, involve more money, and implicate
    more interstate commerce issues than any other types of lawsuits. These
    reforms do not alter the right of a plaintiff to bring a legitimate
    claim, or change controlling substantive law, but they do provide
    additional protection and information to class members.

Aiding Asbestos Victims with a Fair System and Long-Term Solution
  þ Victims of asbestos-related diseases deserve a fair system and a
    long-term solution. The current system may leave little or no funds to
    pay current and future asbestos victims; is costly to administer
    (future transaction costs are estimated at between $145 and $210
    billion); will impose large, indirect costs on the economy; and has
    driven exposed defendants, including small businesses, into bankruptcy.
    Asbestos, as the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history,
    has led to the bankruptcies of at least 74 companies. Within the past
    few years, there have been sharp increases in the number of asbestos
    claims filed annually. The President has stressed the need for reform
    and commended Congress for aggressively working on this problem, but
    more work needs to be done to pass legislation for the President to
    sign that provides a fair and permanent solution.

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