Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas

October 7, 2009

Several Texas employers and physicians joined Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse to mark Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week by launching a statewide “Reform Works” campaign.  The campaign, which features a series of testimonials from local business leaders and doctors discussing the real world benefits of reform, reminds Texans of the need to ward off relentless attempts to roll back progress. 

“Civil justice reform has directly benefited the Texas economy and dramatically improved access to health care,” said Stephanie Gibson, Executive Director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Central Texas. “Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week is an opportunity to shine a spotlight not only on the benefits of reform, but also on the intent of some personal injury lawyers to return Texas to the days when lawsuit abuse ruled this state.  Reform works and it’s worth protecting.”

Thanks to a series of civil justice reforms passed since 1995, Texas has added 499,000 permanent jobs, according to an economic study by The Perryman Group.  Additional gains attributable to legal reforms include a $112.5 billion increase in annual spending and 430,000 additional Texans who now have health insurance.

“The threat of lawsuit abuse can keep me up at night because the ramifications don’t just affect me personally; they threaten the people who work for my company,” said Bobby Jenkins, president of ABC Home & Commercial Services, which serves Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Bryan/College Station.  “Reforms allow me to feel more comfortable doing business here.  But just because we’ve made strides, doesn’t mean we can say ‘Game over,we won.’  Fighting lawsuit abuse is a constant battle.”

Jenkins’ sentiment about the threat of a lawsuit abuse resurgence was borne out during the last legislative session when personal injury lawyers pushed 900 bills that would have created new ways to sue or undermined current laws designed to curb lawsuit abuse, according to Chip Hough, Chairman of the Board of Bay Area Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.

In addition to attracting – and keeping – employers in Texas, civil justice reform has attracted a record number of new physicians and dramatically increased access to health care statewide.  In proclaiming October 5^th – 9^th, Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, Governor Rick Perry wrote, “In Texas, lawsuit abuse made life difficult for doctors, many of whom had to decide if continuing in the profession they loved was worth the constant harassment from personal injury lawyers and skyrocketing [insurance] premiums.  Thankfully, with the aid of Texas voters, one of the most sweeping tort reforms in the nation helped reverse a trend, and today many doctors are back in business in the Lone Star State.” 

“Legal reform was a major factor in my decision to stay and serve patients in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Dr. James Castillo, who practices internal medicine at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. “Texas has enjoyed a tremendous influx of physicians thanks to lawsuit reforms.  If we lose ground on our progress, physicians will find fewer reasons to stay in historically underserved communities like the Valley.”

Texas has added 10,000 new physicians since the passage of medical liability reforms in 2003.  Patients have access to more doctors in high-risk specialties such as neurosurgeons, emergency room physicians and OB/GYNS, according to Michelle Martin, Executive Director with Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse of Houston.

“Reform means not having to travel 90 minutes from Austin to San Antonio when you suffer a head trauma,” said Dr. Amy Arrant, a physician with Hospital Internists of Austin.  “Before we reformed our legal system in Texas, we had only one neurosurgeon practicing in Austin.  If a patient suffered a head trauma when that doctor was off duty, he was shipped to San Antonio. That is not good medicine.”

In reflecting on the impact of civil justice reforms in Texas, Bobby Jenkins concluded, “I’m proud to live in a community where fairness matters.” 

Testimonials describing the real world impact of civil justice reforms from Bobby Jenkins, Dr. James Castillo, Dr. Amy Arrant and several others are available online at www.calactx.com.