Posted On: April 27, 2006, 11:45 am CDT

Posted By: Jeffrey E. Martin

Why is it that the term "frivolous lawsuits" always appears whenever tort reform is discussed. Those who continue to do this miss the point: Frivolous lawsuits are just that - frivolous and they are worth $0! There are measures designed to prevent the filing of such suits, e.g. the requirement of a certificate of merit from a qualified reviewing physician, that waste everybody's time and lawyers who file such suits should be sanctioned. However, for the lawsuits which are brought because a person or family member has been seriously injured or killed, those are not frivolous. And, unfortunately, those are the precise types of cases which will come under whatever arbitrary limits of recovery a state legislature feels appropriate - without that deciding body ever seeing or knowing anythiing about the underlying facts, liability or injuries to the parties involved. That is the injustice here.

So if you are concerned about reform, please be certain that you are specific about what you seek and not lumping together frivolous suits with meritorious suits. Support all measures that address the issue of preventing frivolous lawsuits because nobody is in favor of them. But do not support measures that take away or severely limit the rights of severely injured people or their families.