One thing that I hate more than almost anything is when a person or group in power tries to hoodwink me or the public for personal gain.

I realized this again last night when I watched the 30 for 30 episode on the Duke lacrosse rape case. What Mike Nifong did in hiding exculpatory evidence was outrageous and egregious. He's lucky he only served one day in jail. He mislead the public all in an effort to strengthen his campaign for public office and promote his own well being at the expense of the lives of three innocent young men.

The insurance industry is doing the same thing when it comes to tort reform.

The insurance industry - directly and through paid lobbyists - shouts that out-of-control medical malpractice lawsuits are driving up the cost of healthcare and negatively impacting the lives of every American. Their argument is that states and the U.S. as a whole should adopt caps on jury verdicts or other controls to limit the exposure of doctors and hospitals.

You are being bamboozled.

Texas and a few other states have enacted laws to cap medical malpractice lawsuits and protect specifically emergency room doctors. Yet, none of these measures have done anything to curtail the rising cost of healthcare in these particular states. In fact, healthcare costs in Texas have spiked even higher.

The only reason insurance companies and their lobbyists promote tort reform is to limit risk and their exposure and bolster their bottom lines. That's it. Their mantra that we need tort reform to curtail rising medical costs ("We're looking out for you") is really a veiled self-interest, profit-centric power play ("Screw the little guy who has a legitimate claim").

Let me say something too about Medical malpractice lawsuits from an attorney's perspective. They are not out-of-control. They are extremely difficult and attorneys do not pursue these cases unless there is a strong likelihood of success. These cases do not settle quickly, they are protracted litigation battles, and are very expert heavy. Thus, these cases are VERY EXPENSIVE. Lawyers do not take on these cases willy-nilly. Lawyers have to be very selective or else they will waste a lot of money.

I do not do medical malpractice cases directly because of how difficult and expensive they are. I have really only taken on two such cases and have retained co-counsel in each one. The first case was a decubitous ulcer (bed sore) case against a rehab facility. My client ended up dying prior to resolution of the case but it still settled for six figures. The other was a case against the VA for a blind elderly gentleman (a vet) who was a fall risk. The VA disregarded that he was a fall risk and didn't take the proper precautions (i.e., sensor floor mat). The man woke up in the middle of the night, got out of bed, and fell hitting his head. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and died a few days later. If you met his sweet, sweet, wife and his wonderful son, you would feel differently about these types of lawsuits. Again, we settled this case in the mid six figures (for essentially a wrongful death BTW). There have been countless other potential cases that I and other attorneys have turned down.

And finally, I identify as a conservative Republican. More accurately, I identify as a neoclassical liberal. Where the GOP gets sideways with me is when I see a platform that almost always aligns with Big Business at the expense of the individuals who have been harmed or are entitled to redress. To me, neo-classical liberalism is about economic freedom AND providing individuals access to justice through the judicial system.

We should take every step possible to ensure (1) that EVERYONE has access to the judicial branch - from the largest corporation to a small child; and (2) that the when a party walks through the doors of the courthouse, the rules apply to every party equally - from the largest corporation to a small child.

Tort reform is Big Business's attempt to turn these principles upside down and tip the scales more in favor of the "haves".