Copyright 2000 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
February 19, 2000, Saturday, Final Edition
SECTION: OP-ED; Pg. A25; FREE FOR ALL
LENGTH: 313 words
HEADLINE:
Tort Reform: Worth Touting
BODY:
Comments by former Texas governor Ann Richards's state
officals about Gov. George W. Bush's record on tort reform are misleading. They
distort documented public records detailing almost $ 3 billion in savings to
Texas consumers as a result of tort reforms ["Experts Strongly Dispute Consumer
Savings Claim," news story, Feb. 10]. J. Robert Hunter's recent study on
insurance savings, cited in this article, confused insurance rate reductions and
insurance premium levels. As an actuary, Hunter should know that the rate is the
cost per unit of insurance coverage, and the premium is the total amount paid
for insurance. Instead of addressing proven rate reductions, Hunter focused on
differences in insurance premium levels between Texas and non-tort reform
states. This comparison is flawed because premium amounts reflect both increased
insurance coverage on existing assets as well as new coverage as our economy has
expanded since 1995. Insurance rates in Texas have gone down.
Critics
have described tort reform as reducing injured parties' rights to sue. This is
wrong. Legitimate lawsuits continue to go forward in Texas, but out-of-state
lawsuits, frivolous lawsuits and notorious practices such as venue shopping for
favorable judges have been reduced. Reforms have also capped campaign
contributions to state Supreme Court judges and extended protections to retired
and volunteer physicians, enabling them to work for free in clinics for the
poor.
These reforms have brought Texas back into the mainstream of
American civil justice to the chagrin of a handful of wealthy, politically
connected trial lawyers and a few consumer groups that refuse to acknowledge
that the explosion of litigation in America is harmful to consumers and to our
society.
--Richard W. Weekley
The writer is president and
CEO of Texans
for Lawsuit Reform.
LOAD-DATE: February 19, 2000
