The Importance Of Tort Reform

Before considering reforms, it is important to consider the functions in which a reformed system must fulfil. Different societies and different groups desire different outcomes from the legal system, however, generally it can be said to be desirable to deal with the victim/patient’s needs, encourage future safety and pass judgement on any wrong committed. Various normative ethical frameworks were conceptualized to achieve this end. The current tort-based system as it stands fails to adequately compensate all victims of medical injury. And is based primarily upon ideals evinced in punitive and corrective justice.
Punitive ethical frameworks focus upon punishing the faulty practitioner rather than upon redressing the harm suffered by the patient. …show more content…
Frameworks should be selected on the basis they; improve patient safety, minimize risk and ensure injured patients have access to compensation. Negligence and medical liability have been an issue in many common law jurisdictions and as a result examples of reform exist some more successful than others. Two countries are of particular interest the United States and New Zealand. The United States provides an example of traditional tort reform such as caps on economic damages and their inability to resolve targeted issues. New Zealand on the other hand have departed from an adversarial fault framework to an administrative no-fault framework for compensation. The two countries have markedly different outcomes and should provide insight for Australian policy makers moving …show more content…
These included things such as caps on damages. Despite the intuitive appeal of such reforms there is little in the way of strong data regarding their efficacy. Studies that encompassed all 50 states showed some reduction in claim payouts, however, there was little to no effect upon insurance premiums. (copy)Regardless of their ability to achieve their stated goals, traditional reforms do not address problems with the malpractice system 's 2 core functions—compensating negligently injured patients and deterring substandard care.) Still as it stands a patient must often wait 5 years between filing for compensation and finalizing the claim. Operating at its best the US system operates primarily to financially compensate the injured and does little to facilitate measures that improve patient safety, address systemic problems or address patient’s