is just too easy.  Ever since Dan Quayle gave his little speech with totally made up numbers about the money supposedly being lost by "out of control" lawsuits this country has been suckered by the biggest non-crisis in medical history.  Sure, the number of lawsuits in this country has increased, but mostly in the area of corporate suits over things like infringements of copyright, patents, trademarks, and licenses.  When the lawyer haters count the lawsuits they include things like mechanics' liens and divorces and every little inconsequential thing.  The Virginia malpractice cap is onerous, burdensome, and grossly unfair.  Patients injured by malpractice and requiring millions dollars worth of care for their projected life spans are told their compensation will be severely limited. 

What gets me is that my doctors' office asks every patient for a "voluntary $10 donation" to help cover the "cost of malpractice insurance".  They claim their rates have risen steeply.  Really?  How?  Why?  They're protected by this ridiculous cap and with the built in disincentives to medmal suits in this state I am perplexed (rather, suspicious) of this "rise" in insurance costs.

of a "frivilous" lawsuit is? Any lawsuit. Seriously.

I believe it's insurance companies hiding behind doctors.  Even doctors are screwed when they pay for insurance and when they admit they've made an error, the companies won't pay.

I looked up the Fortune 100 - it is heavy with insuance and financial service companies. Those companies aren't hurting. They are doing just fine.

Rank Company --------- 500 rank Revenues ($ millions)
1 American Intl. Group  9 108,905.0
2 Berkshire Hathaway -- 13 81,663.0
3 Allstate  ------------- 58 35,383.0
4 Hartford Financial -- 78 27,083.0
5 St.Paul Travelers Cos-85 24,365.0
6 Nationwide  ----------98 21,832.0
7 Liberty Mutual Ins.- 102 21,161.0
28 Markel  ----------- 758 2,200.1
29 Commerce Group --- 837 1,884.4
30 Ohio Casualty  ------894 1,702.4
31 Selective Insurance- 898 1,696.8
32 Ambac Financial Grp--911 1,661.7
33 HCC Insurance Holdings-918 1,644.3
34 MGIC Investment ------ 956 1,526.5

I am touched by a quote from a man whose daughter was killed by malpractice who won a lot of money. He was represented by John Edwards. When the press asked him what it felt like to get the "windfall" verdict, he replied, "Every day, when I visit my daughter's grave, it doesn't feel like a windfall."

And only then will our health care improve (and that is IF folks will sue the hospitals and doctors when they get negligent care...)  AND there's alot of negligent care going on b/c the hospitals are so profit driven the folks that die are just a "minor" costs b/c it really is rare that the grieving family will sue....and the hospitals are fine with the million dollar maximum that Virginia has adopted....they are making lots of money by "convincing" us that it's the "greedy" lawyers who are our "enemies" and not the profiteers with the drug companies, insurance companies, and for profit hospitals...

buzz...buzz...