Toxic Talking Points

One of the reasons tort reform laws are popular is that proponents of tort reform blatantly misrepresent the effects of tort reform and get away with it. For example, last week former congressman Newt Gingrich wrote an op ed for a Pennsylvania newspaper in which he plainly lied about the effects of tort reform laws in Texas.

Gingrich claimed, for example, that tort reform had lowered the cost of health care and made health care more accessible to Texans. In fact, after “tort reform” the cost of health care in Texas continued to rise at an even faster rate than in most of the country, and Texas continues to have the highest rate of citizens without medical insurance.

All it takes is a little Googling to verify these facts. But politicians and lobbyists continue to make untrue claims as they push for tort reform legislation in other states.

Just one example — a year ago an organization called the Pacific Research Institute released a “Tort Liability Index” praising the state of Ohio for its excellent legal climate. “For the first time, Ohio ranked 4th best in the nation and was designated a ’saint’– a state with ‘relatively strong tort rules’ and low costs or few litigation risks,” PRI said. “Being a ’saint’ brings certain benefits – job creation, a competitive advantage over other states and an incentive for business location and expansion.”

PRI sent out press releases to Ohio media outlets, and soon Ohioans were hearing about how lucky they were to live in Ohio because of the great business climate. Of course, the reality of what’s going on in Ohio right now is very different — manufacturing plants are being shuttered, jobs and health coverage are vanishing. Things are tough all over, yes, but neither does Ohio enjoy any measurable economic advantages compared to its less “saintly” neighbors.

Yet even now, in statehouses all over America, legislators are being told that “tort reform” is key to growing business and creating new jobs. It’s happened in other states, the lobbyists will say. But which other states would those be?

The Pacific Research Institute, by the way, is essentially an ersatz “think tank” established in the 1990s by some wealthy businessmen to spread the gospel of free-market capitalism and shrinking the regulatory powers of government.

Along with not stimulating the economy, another thing tort reform doesn’t do is make workplaces and hospitals safer. Manufacturing workers in Ohio and elsewhere have been exposed to asbestos and other toxic substances, and those workers suffered real and severe damage — mesothelioma, for example, as well as asbestosis and other extremely serious diseases. Businesses and their liability insurers are protected from litigation, but the costs of caring for the injured are pushed off on health insurers, medical providers and taxpayers.

Barbara O’Brien
April 15, 2009

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