Orrin Hatch: “one thing is clear from our debate over the past week. While there are both proponents and opponents of the medical…”

“one thing is clear from our debate over the past week. While there are both proponents and opponents of the medical liability amendment before us, we all agree that the system is not perfect. Specifically, many commentators have criticized our current liability system as compensating very few of those entitled to recovery and punishing the wrong providers. And most of the money spent on liability goes to lawyers. By a RAND estimate, 57 cents of every liability dollar goes to lawyers, leaving only 43 cents for injured patients. Injured patients can wait years for a final judgment and eventual payment of the small percentage of their awards left to them by the lawyers and the system. And doctors can have their reputations destroyed or lose their livelihood by a single lawsuit or even mere insurance costs. The results of tort litigation, particularly in jury cases, is so unpredictable that it has been called the liability lottery. There must be a better way of compensating injured patients and punishing bad doctors without wasting so much time, money, and effort while getting such unpredictable and inconsistent results. There must be a more rational and efficient liability system. As with so many things, innovative ideas are coming from the States. And, I believe, many more interesting new ideas can be developed in the States if we will allow them to experiment.”