Vested Interest - January/February 2004 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

Anyone who previously thought Newsweek was a left-leaning weekly news magazine should think again after reading their December 15, 2003, issue featuring "Lawsuit Hell" as the cover story. Written by self-styled legal reform advocate Stuart Taylor, Jr., the article was perhaps the worst piece of "journalism" I had ever read regarding our civil justice system. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should.

I have little doubt that this exposé represents the opening salvo of a year-long bombardment of public misinformation churned out by conservative special interest groups, the insurance industry, and the American Medical Association, coordinated to feed into the Bush Administration’s top domestic agenda item for the 2004 re-election campaign – liability reform. You don’t have to look hard for proof that the Bush Administration and the Republican-held Congress are not going to rest after their failed attempts to rollback injured victims’ rights in 2003. At the news conference following the capture of Saddam Hussein, a reporter asked President Bush what Legislative initiatives he had in mind for 2004 to further the economic recovery. President Bush’s answer was "liability reform." Setting aside the nonsensical correlation between liability reform and an economic stimulus (unless you are trying to increase the bottom line of insurance companies), the President’s quick response was a reminder that we will face significant challenges to our civil justice system in 2004. ATLA will once again be on the firing line fighting for every consumer’s rights. This will be a war. The Bush Administration desperately wants to further satisfy the desires of their supporters, while attacking trial lawyers and their clients. I am proud of our Organization’s efforts in helping to increase ATLA’s membership, including the membership drive which ITLA had in December 2003. Eighty-five new members pledged their support to ATLA. According to Melissa Duprat, Membership Chairwoman, of ATLA, it was the most successful membership drive of any state in many years. Kudos to Tracey and Angela at the ITLA office for their efforts and all those who worked the phones during that two-day period.

At the statewide level, it’s important that we continue to get our message out to the public regarding the need for meaningful medical malpractice insurance legislation to help curb anticipated, and perhaps unwarranted rate hikes scheduled for this spring and summer. I am encouraged to report there has been considerable by-partisan cooperation at the state level to fashion some legislation that will fairly address this issue. Not surprisingly, the Illinois State Medical Society and ISMIE are objecting and have taken steps to encourage their members to fight such efforts at regulating the insurance industry. In a recent poll conducted by the Coalition for Consumer Rights, it was determined that 86% of all the citizens in our State support prior approval of medical malpractice insurance premium hikes. During my numerous discussions across this State with consumers, doctors, politicians, and other lawyers, there is considerable support for prior rate approval and/or mandatory rate review concerning medical malpractice insurance premiums. I believe you will see some form of this legislation by the end of the spring legislative session. ITLA will continue to be involved in this legislative process.

Michael P. Schostok, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association