Hole-y Hegemony, Dr. Killcourts!

by: Paul Rosenberg

Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 08:00

According the the Institute of Medicine, 98,000 people die every year from preventable medical errors--and this number doesn't include those seriously injured.  This is the sixth leading cause of death in America, equivalent to two 737s crashing every day.

Trial attorneys see first-hand the effects medical errors have on patients and their families. The best way to have fewer medical maslpractice cases is to reduce the number of medical errrors. If less people need to seek legal recourse, that means patients are getting safer.  Patients that are safer also means lower costs to the health care system..  Everyone can support this.

They ask you to contact Congress opposing "tort reform" being included in health care reform.  Takes about a minute.

On the other hand, here's a verrrrry interesting poll from Clarus Research Group on "Health Care Reform and the Legal System"--interesting because it shows how successful a 30-year-or-so campaign for "tort reform" can be, and still leave a wide-open gapping hole.  There's 18 questons overall, and I provide a quick look and comment to half of them.

To start things off, here are two broad-spectrum questions, which show the general success of the conservative war on courts:

Too Quick To Sue?

It's a core article of faith of the conservative war on courts that folks are just too litigious--even though it's corporations that file far more and bigger lawsuits.

Better or Worse?

And, of course, lawsuits are ruining the country!  ("Leave the corporations and the police state alone!")

What could be more populist than giving over absolute gatekeeper power to an elitist judge?

Throw Juries Out, Too!

If you're going to be a populist elitist, why mess around?

Health Courts

In which case, this:

is simply the next logical step!

And a good thing, too, given that people still have funny traditional values when it comes to:

Jury Discretion

No juries?  No problem!

Done Quick! Done Right!

Gosh, I wonder how they would have answered if the question asked was this:

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THIS STATEMENT: As part of any health care reform plan, Congress needs to change the medical malpractice system so that cases are resolved quicker, and more reliably, on behalf of those who are in the wrong.

Questionable question design, much?  Ya think???

And finally, the whole point of this long exercise:

Defensive Medicine--That's The Evil!

But This One Just Doesn't Fit!

Hole-y Hegemony! What's that you say?  By better than 2-1 people think that legitimate lawsuits are not being heard, because the court system just makes it too difficult?

That certainly doesn't sound like it belongs in the same universe as all those other answers.  In fact, it sounds like this question just happened to ask about how people really feel on a fundamental aspect of civil justice that hasn't been the focus of intense conservative "attitude adjustment".  After all, in our collective state of cognitive dissociation how people answer this very revealing question doesn't seem to affect much of anything that conservatives are trying to accomplish.  So why waste time trying to brainwash people over this?

Once again, a friendly little reminder that movement conservatism is the enemy of rational thought.  Not to mention, their health care plan really is "Die quickly." Followed by, "Don't sue."