There are several articles out in today’s media that touch on the courts, which is particularly appropriate given the late-night, alcohol-fueled discussion I had about tort reform with a certain close friend / trial lawyer at Blueberry Hill after darts this past Wednesday. So this post goes out to you, P.
First of all, Missourinet has an audio story about our recently released study of judicial selection (link via Mr. Combest). Check it out if you can. Next, the Washington Examiner has an article about tort reform success across America that mentions Missouri as an example. According to the article:
Since the reforms became law, the number of medical insurance companies in Texas increased from four to more than 30. Malpractice insurance premiums fell by as much as 31 percent.
This dovetails nicely with last month’s Missouri articles discussing insurance premium reductions for doctors, which we blogged about here at SMI.
I think the facts are pretty clear. Our judicial selection system is a good one for our state, although I believe small improvements can still be made to it (our study focused on the big picture and admitted minor changes could be either helpful or harmful). Even more importantly, the tort system had gotten out of whack before the "Missouri Plan" — particularly the venue laws — and changes needed to be made. Those changes have benefited our economy and our health care system. Now, unless some Law & Order twist happens in the next few seconds (like St. Luke’s Hospital announcing they are moving to St. Clair County, Ill.), I declare this post closed.
