Problem: I am being beaten about the head and face by my lawyer friends because of my radical views on tort reform :-).

Here's what I wrote that has them so inflamed: "Taken a look at the back of your phone book lately? The back of a city bus? How about local TV ads? If it isn't Patty Swope selling cars it's some legal team telling us how much they love hospital curve. We are the most litigious society on the planet, and it's costing us billions. It's driving up the cost of health care. And it's got to stop.

If I sound as though I take this issue personally, it's because I do. Ludicrous lawsuits in the 1980s crushed an industry that I love - general aviation. After a string of settlements that ranged up to $480,000,000 (I'm not making that number up), American manufacturers quit building airplanes. Some limited tort reform in the 90s helped the industry to limp back into production, but it's now a shadow of its former self. Today, $50,000 to $100,000 of the purchase price of a light aircraft is allocated to product liability insurance. A small airplane is now financially out of the reach of most people. Is that really good for our economy? Go tell the laid-off worker at the Cessna plant in Wichita that these multi-million-dollar settlements helped the 'little guy.'"

And here's what I'm adding in order to stop the blood-letting:  I have a lot to learn on the subject of tort reform, and I'm grateful that I have some thoughtful, intelligent lawyer friends who are willing to overlook my inflammatory rhetoric and work with me toward the common good.  Most law firms are small businesses like mine, and as such I know how tough it is for them to survive in the dog-eat-dog (lawyer-devour-lawyer?) business world. Our legal system, bless its heart, ain't all bad, but I remain concerned for its long-term health and well-being (as well as my own ;-).

Solution: Some kind of Tort Reform. 

Implement John Edwards' "Three Strikes" rule that would banish lawyers who file three frivolous lawsuits. Consider increased protection for medical doctors, many of whom tell me that they are being crushed by medical malpractice insurance premiums.  Implement sane limits (or at least more sane guidelines) on personal injury lawsuits so that ridiculous $480,000,000 settlements don't destroy entire industries. Of course I don't have all of the answers. For one additional  viewpoint, please read this.  For feedback on this topic from my lawyer friends and readers, click here.

This site was designed entirely by James W Moore, and I am the sole author of its contents. Since it runs on my own web server, I can legitimately claim that it was paid for by James W. Moore for Congress, even though I didn't charge myself.