Letter: Legislators must pass tort reform

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 | 9:03 a.m.

A doctor or a surgeon could save a life, but one little error in judgment and that person could be sued for malpractice. Why then doesn't a baseball player who drops an easy fly ball, and possibly causes the loss of a championship and money for his team because of the error, get sued? Or if a player in any sport accidentally injures an opponent, he is not worried about a lawsuit.

Suing for every reason would ruin the games, that's for sure. Our medical profession is being ruined through malpractice suits, and yet it is allowed to happen.

Many Nevada doctors are retiring, going elsewhere or leaving their profession because of unreasonably high malpractice insurance rates.

The blame can be placed on legislators who will not do anything about tort reform. Most legislators are lawyers themselves, and perhaps that is the reason. Also, law firms contribute heavily to their campaigns.

In the long run, future patients will be the losers. Not only will medical insurance be more unaffordable for many, but doctors' appointments will be difficult to make. Only when voters insist in no uncertain terms that proper legislation be enacted will reasonable tort reform become a reality. Hopefully, that day will come soon.

JOHN KALEITA

archive