Vested Interest - September 2004 Issue

The President’s Thoughts

An attorney told me recently that she was asked to sign a petition during a recent doctor’s visit. While in the doctor’s waiting room, she was asked to sign a petition directed to state legislators in order to "benefit doctors and health care." The petition sought tort reform.

I do not know if the specific doctor was aware that legal rights of the most meritorious victims would be severely compromised by recent reform proposals. Nor, do I know if the doctor was aware that recent spiking in malpractice insurance rates has been caused by losses in financial markets, not by an increase in payouts. Nor do I know if the doctor had read recent AMA news citing malpractice premiums skyrocketing in states with existing reform.

But, I do know that this anecdote is a symptom of a serious problem. Trial lawyers who know the causes of spiking insurance rates and know the importance of the civil justice system, are not sharing their knowledge. In the interim, persons with limited knowledge are asking for major changes in the civil justice system that guarantee no relief for doctors or victims, but virtually guarantee increased insurance company profits.

How do we begin to change this imbalance? We must ask: Do our spouses, parents and children know that the civil justice system is merely looked at by business interests as an "expense"? Do our co-workers, friends and clients know that insurance companies do not care that the civil justice system is often the only method for remedying injustice and wrongdoing?

It is no wonder that they are misinformed. When business and insurance interests hide behind surrogates to unfairly bash judges and lawyers for their own political advantage, it is difficult to decipher the truth. While specific interests attempt to limit the rights of citizens to increase their profits, they hide their identities and motives from the public.

Sadly, too many of our co-workers and employees are not sufficiently familiar with civil justice issues. Our friends and their families do not know that the civil justice system is under an organized and unfair attack. Most unfortunately, our clients who participate in the civil justice system do not always realize the insidious intent and destructive effects of tort reform. They do not realize that increased insurance company profits are sought by punishing the most severely injured victims.

While ITLA, ATLA and others seek ways to tell the public the full story, a more personal approach is also required. We, as trial lawyers, must educate our families, friends, co-workers and clients. In conversations, in emails, letters and phone calls we must inform them of civil justice issues. And, we must encourage them to register to vote and to exercise the privilege of voting. Justice depends on it.

Kevin Conway, President
Illinois Trial Lawyers Association