WHAT HAVE WE DONE FOR YOU LATELY ? Tort Reform Battle Heating Up
Be sure to visit www . arjobsandjustice . com to learn more about Issue 1 and to contribute .
The opponents of tort reform have , as expected , resorted to lawsuits in a desperate attempt to remove Issue 1 from the November ballot .
That ’ s what trial lawyers do , I guess … file lawsuits . Their argument is that Issue 1 is four separate amendments disguised as one . It ’ s a flimsy argument at best , since all four provisions of the amendment are closely related ( lawsuit reform ) and the amendment was submitted to the voters of Arkansas by the General Assembly . We consider it nothing more than a delay tactic – an attempt to force supporters to spend financial resources on fighting a lawsuit rather than getting out to vote campaigns . I ’ m sure they think that occasionally long shots do come in on the horse track .
The Arkansas Medical Society , as part of the tort reform coalition Arkansans for Jobs & Justice , has successfully intervened in the case filed against the Secretary of State ’ s office . We ’ ll let you know the outcome .
Meanwhile , AMS staff and leadership continue traveling around the state to meet with physician groups to inform them about the effort and request financial contributions . AMS and related organizations such as county medical societies , specialty societies , individual AMS members , and professional liability insurers have contributed more than one-third of the total contributions to date , with more coming in .
As a reminder , Issue 1 is a constitutional amendment submitted to the voters by the General Assembly . It will appear on the November ballot as “ Issue 1 .” It contains these four basic provisions :
• A 33 1 / 3 cap on attorney contingency fees in civil actions such as medical malpractice cases
DAVID WROTEN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
• A $ 500,000 cap on non-economic damages
• A punitive damage cap equal to the greater of $ 500,000 or 3X compensatory damages
• Authorization for the General Assembly ( by a 3 / 5 vote ) to adopt , amend or repeal socalled “ rules of the court .”
The trial attorneys and their organizations are already out on the circuit talking about how this will be a disaster for Arkansans . They ignore the facts that none of these provisions are novel ideas . Many , many states have adopted these same tort reforms and the world didn ’ t come to an end . Injured parties still go to court to settle civil cases , juries still decide the outcome and the monetary awards . You ’ ll hear a lot from opponents about “ setting a value on human life .” Well that ’ s what juries do every day . The problem is that juries make decisions on an emotional basis as evidenced by the wide spread of awards for basically the same injuries . Issue 1 is common sense legal reform .
You ’ ll also hear that Issue 1 takes away the right of the courts to establish their own rules . The reality is that they can still do that . Issue 1 simply provides the legislature the ability to do the same while also serving as a check and balance to the courts . For those of you that aren ’ t aware , “ rules of the court ” has been the basis for the Arkansas Supreme Court overturning nearly all the provisions of our Civil Justice Reform Act of 2003 . Without this important provision in Issue 1 , we ’ ll continue to see the Court overturn common sense tort reforms such as affidavit of merit and qualifications for expert witnesses .
For more information and to contribute , be sure to visit www . arjobsandjustice . com .
David Wroten Executive Vice President
Penny Henderson Executive Assistant Journal Advertising
Nicole Richards Managing Editor
Jeremy Henderson Art Director
EDITORIAL BOARD Appathurai Balamurugan , MD , DrPH , MPH Family Medicine / Public Health
Tim Paden , MD Family Medicine
Sandra Johnson , MD Dermatology
Issam Makhoul , MD Oncology
Naveen Patil , MD , MHSA , MA , FIDSA Internal Medicine / Infectious Disease
Benjamin Tharian , MD , MRCP , FACP , FRACP Gastroenterologist / Hepatologist
Robert Zimmerman , MD Urology
Tobias Vancil , MD Internal Medicine
Darrell Over , MD Family Medicine
EDITOR EMERITUS Alfred Kahn Jr ., MD ( 1916-2013 )
ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY 2018-2019 OFFICERS
Lee Archer , MD , Little Rock President
Amy Cahill , MD , Pine Bluff Immediate Past President
Dennis Yelvington , MD , Stuttgart President Elect
Chad Rodgers , MD , Little Rock Vice President
George Conner , MD , Forrest City Secretary
Bradley Bibb , MD , Jonesboro Treasurer
Eugene Shelby , MD , Hot Springs Speaker of the House of Delegates
Jim Ingram , MD , Little Rock Vice Speaker of the House of Delegates
Danny Wilkerson , MD , Little Rock Chairman of the Board of Trustees
52 • THE JOURNAL OF THE ARKANSAS MEDICAL SOCIETY VOLUME 115