Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas

By Daniel Neil - mySA.com
May 25, 2007

Every year, eager footballers from Texas and Oklahoma meet on the gridiron to battle it out in the Red River Rivalry.

Just as the Sooners lost last year, the Oklahoma governor seriously dropped the ball in a fight that is not fun and games — the fight against lawsuit abuse.

Once again, Oklahoma is no match for Texas, where meaningful medical liability reforms are moving the ball to improve health care for Texans.

Oklahoma lawmakers gave their governor the opportunity to dance in the end zone when they passed legislation that would have gone far in improving the dismal legal environment in his state. But despite his claims to support civil justice reforms and his public promise to "out-Texas" Texas, he vetoed the bill.

People only have to look at the dramatic improvements in Texas made possible by civil justice reforms to see what was lost in Oklahoma.

Before Texas reined in the subjective — and personal-injury lawyer favorite — "pain and suffering" awards, physician liability rates were skyrocketing and doctors were running beyond Texas borders. Many communities suffered when specialty doctors such as obstetricians were forced to limit or shut their practices.

Since reforms passed in 2003, Texans are enjoying greater access to care and to more doctors and specialists.

Even in areas that had been underserved for years, including the Valley and rural Texas, medical professionals returned to high-risk specialties.

Medical liability reforms triggered an onslaught of applications to the Texas Medical Board by physicians eager to treat Texans. Applications for new physician licenses have jumped 57 percent, and the Texas Medical Board received a record 4,026 applications last year, 34 percent more than 2005, the previous high.

Thanks to reforms, doctors say it is easier to recruit new physicians to their communities, even in high-risk specialties, according to a Texas Medical Association survey.

Last year, four times as many doctors reported accepting complex or high-risk cases than in 2004. Eighty-one percent of surveyed doctors said the improved liability climate played a "very important" role in their decision to accept these cases. The impact of reform in Texas has been dramatic.

Texans might wonder why they should care if Oklahoma missed an opportunity to keep pace in the fight against lawsuit abuse. They should care because Oklahoma is becoming the Wild West of lawsuit abuse.

An out-of-control civil justice system in Oklahoma impacts every American by contributing to the overall cost of our national tort system. Every American's annual share of the cost of lawsuits is a staggering $880, according to a report by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, an accounting firm.

All Americans should be fans of ending lawsuit abuse in this country. And we certainly challenge the people of Oklahoma to continue to make their voices heard in their demands for reform. They should challenge their governor to "say no" to personal injury lawyers who look for new and innovative ways to game the system.

The prize for winning the fight for liability reform is better health care and greater access to critically needed medical services — a prize better than any trophy.