Comments on: Agreement reached on Oklahoma civil justice plan – BusinessWeek http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/2009/05/agreement-reached-on-oklahoma-civil-justice-plan-businessweek/ Noteworthy developments in real estate law, among other things. Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:14:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Brian Huddleston http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/2009/05/agreement-reached-on-oklahoma-civil-justice-plan-businessweek/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Brian Huddleston Wed, 27 May 2009 03:27:09 +0000 http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/?p=480#comment-9 House Bill 1603: • Places a $400,000 cap on noneconomic damages, which can be lifted under extreme circumstances • Establishes a task force to study buying a $20 million policy to cover noneconomic damages that exceed $400,000 in medical malpractice cases • Changes joint and several liability rules to require defendants to be more than 50 percent responsible before they're required to pay • Requires an affidavit from a "qualified expert" in professional negligence cases but allows indigent Oklahomans to receive fee waivers • Makes it easier for judges to dismiss cases • Makes peer-review information confidential and not subject to legal discovery Not all the provisions in HB 1603 are bad. But the premise behind HB 1603 -- that lawsuits are out of control in our state and need to be curtailed to improve our business climate and health care availability -- has not been established. Consider the numbers: • 17.5%: The drop in tort filings in the state's 13 most populous counties from 2003-07 • 29.7%: The drop in medical negligence filings in the same counties during the same period • $275,151: The average medical malpractice judgment or settlement or award in 2007 House Bill 1603:
• Places a $400,000 cap on noneconomic damages, which can be lifted under extreme circumstances
• Establishes a task force to study buying a $20 million policy to cover noneconomic damages that exceed $400,000 in medical malpractice cases
• Changes joint and several liability rules to require defendants to be more than 50 percent responsible before they’re required to pay
• Requires an affidavit from a “qualified expert” in professional negligence cases but allows indigent Oklahomans to receive fee waivers
• Makes it easier for judges to dismiss cases
• Makes peer-review information confidential and not subject to legal discovery
Not all the provisions in HB 1603 are bad. But the premise behind HB 1603 — that lawsuits are out of control in our state and need to be curtailed to improve our business climate and health care availability — has not been established. Consider the numbers:
• 17.5%: The drop in tort filings in the state’s 13 most populous counties from 2003-07
• 29.7%: The drop in medical negligence filings in the same counties during the same period
• $275,151: The average medical malpractice judgment or settlement or award in 2007

]]> By: Brian Huddleston http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/2009/05/agreement-reached-on-oklahoma-civil-justice-plan-businessweek/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Brian Huddleston Sun, 24 May 2009 18:47:12 +0000 http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/?p=480#comment-8 The new law defines frivolous as an "action or pleading that knowingly asserted in bad faith, or without any rational argument based in law or facts to support the position of the litigant or to change existing law." I have no problem at all with this definition and would never file such a case. However, such cases are not the true target of our new damages cap. The new law also requires an expert to certify that a professional negligence case has merit before it can proceed. This applies to professionals only (e.g., doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, brokers, etc.). This creates two classes of citizens. The professional class now having much greater protection from lawsuits than everyone else. The new law defines frivolous as an “action or pleading that knowingly asserted in bad faith, or without any rational argument based in law or facts to support the position of the litigant or to change existing law.” I have no problem at all with this definition and would never file such a case. However, such cases are not the true target of our new damages cap.

The new law also requires an expert to certify that a professional negligence case has merit before it can proceed. This applies to professionals only (e.g., doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, brokers, etc.). This creates two classes of citizens. The professional class now having much greater protection from lawsuits than everyone else.

]]> By: Brian Huddleston http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/2009/05/agreement-reached-on-oklahoma-civil-justice-plan-businessweek/comment-page-1/#comment-7 Brian Huddleston Sun, 24 May 2009 17:17:13 +0000 http://www.huddlestonlawoffices.com/?p=480#comment-7 "Get that taxpayer-funded thing out of there," said Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, who characterized the proposal as a taxpayer-funded bailout of bad doctors. "This bill is a sweet dream for the doctor who cuts off the wrong leg," Wesselhoft said. "This is a bailout. I resent it." <em>Someone please explain to me why so many Oklahomans believe that you can stop "frivolous lawsuits" by capping recoveries on the serious ones. Would anyone trade their health for a big cash settlement? Brian</em> “Get that taxpayer-funded thing out of there,” said Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, who characterized the proposal as a taxpayer-funded bailout of bad doctors.

“This bill is a sweet dream for the doctor who cuts off the wrong leg,” Wesselhoft said. “This is a bailout. I resent it.”

Someone please explain to me why so many Oklahomans believe that you can stop “frivolous lawsuits” by capping recoveries on the serious ones. Would anyone trade their health for a big cash settlement? Brian

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