LawSquawker • Thomas & Wan's Blawg

A letter from Tea Partier Mark McCaig of Texans for Individual Rights/StopTLR to Republican officials in Texas who want to continue suing the federal government--these are some of the same Republicans that want to keep individuals and small businesses from suing for negligence caused by others, i.e. "tort reform."   Make no mistake- there is absolutely NO difference between Attorney General Abbott going to court to defend the rights of Texans and a private attorney going to court to stand up for those who have been harmed. Likewise, Texas Monthly reiterates what we have long known:   T exas Tort Reform Has Had No Effect on Physician Supply, Lowering Costs ...and not surprisingly Gov. Rick Perry gets it wrong also... Four researchers—including a University of Texas law professor— concluded  that there was no evidence that Texas physicians were leaving the state prior to the 2003 law, or that there was a significant increase in physicians moving to Texas because of be

KXAN of Austin has more on the recent report by Public Citizen showing that 58% of sanctioned Texas doctors have still not been disciplined: Report: Dangerous docs not sanctioned Some facts contained in the 18-page report regarding the severity of the doctors' offenses include: Many of the physicians were disciplined by hospitals and other health care institutions because they were deemed an immediate threat to the health and safety of patients, incompetent or negligent, they committed sexual misconduct or insurance fraud, they abused drugs or alcohol, or they provided substandard care to patients. A quarter of the 459 physicians have been sanctioned by health care facilities more than once. Nearly half of the 459 physicians had one or more medical malpractice reports.

Yet another thing Texas chooses to underfund...the Texas Medical Board...  Choosing not to discipline gross misconduct of these bad apples brings down the good work that most physicians provide to us, thus lowering the health care standards to the detriment of everyone.  As Public Citizen reports,  459 Physicians Have Been Sanctioned by Texas Hospitals and Other Health Care Institutions But Not Disciplined by the State Medical Board: Fifty-eight percent of Texas doctors who have been sanctioned for serious offenses by health care entities, mainly hospitals, over the past two decades have never been disciplined by the state medical board . This shows that the state must do a much better job to protect patients from such dangerous doctors, Public Citizen told Gov. Rick Perry today. Some facts contained in the report regarding the severity of the offenses of the 459 doctors who escaped board sanctions include: • Many of the physicians were disciplined by hospitals and other healt

Unfortunately, the Texas judicial system continues to be stacked against injured parties and in favor of negligent people and insurance companies: A personal tragedy has turned into a very public legal fight for one Texas family. It's a story that may shed some light on weaknesses within the state's judicial system. Imagine not being able to remember where you were sitting at a restaurant after a simple trip to the restroom. That’s the life Michelle Gaines leads today. A traumatic brain injury suffered in a devastating car wreck in 2006 robbed her of a healthy mind. Then, a jury in her community awarded her $8 million, before a court of appeals overturned it. Now, the Texas Supreme Court is refusing to hear the case .