Wednesday, March 3, 2004

It’s a conflict of interest for lawyers to vote on tort reform

Re: Malpractice costs run off another Georgia doctor.

My husband and I talk almost nightly about the nightmare that is our government, locally and nationally, and have come to the conclusion that the reason the government is failing the general public is because it is run by lawyers posing as politicians.

Example: Tort reform will never be what it should be because the politicians/lawyers will rarely vote to decrease the size or type of settlements or put a cap on plaintiff’s lawyer’s fees because it affects their own pockets. That’s either because they are still legal partners in law firms or the law associations will decrease their enormous contributions to the politicians.

It is an uphill battle the size of Mount Everest where the law is literally on the side of the politicians/lawyers. Should it not be considered a conflict of interest regarding tort reform when the politicians/lawyers are the ones who vote on it?

As a mother of four in Fayette County I would like to say to [Dr. Justin] Beverly that you will be greatly missed. I have had to take my children to the ER at Southern Regional in the past and know how vitally important it is to have a pediatrician on staff to care for them. The specialized skills that pediatricians offer in an ER are critical.

I hope that many more parents have read the article and realize what they are going to be sacrificing. Your insight into the outrageous costs that Georgia’s physicians face has been very educational and I plan to write a letter to the state legislature expressing my opinion on tort reform.

I would also like to wish Mr. Beverly good luck in his new venture in Utah. I lived in Salt Lake City for a year and it is a beautiful, beautiful state where morals run high and family comes first.

T. Craft

Fayetteville, Ga.