Caps on malpractice awards: update

Tort reform for professional liability is in the best interests of not only all physicians, but for industry and the citizenry as a whole. The enormous sums of money donated by the Trial Lawyers Association, whose livelihood is at stake, makes initial passage of tort reform difficult and, once passed, brings it under constant attack. Even if a well-disposed legislature passes a professional liability law, state supreme courts are ever ready to invalidate such laws. Thus, once tort reform has been passed, the next battleground is the state supreme court. ACS chapters should be preparing their membership for educating the public as well as themselves as to the danger of a state supreme court comprised of members opposed to tort reform, and be prepared to help the election of those individuals who are more sympathetic to tort reform.