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Trial Lawyers Gearing Up!
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Sue U. Malone The Civil Justice Research & Education Project (CJREP), an organization funded and controlled by the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAC), formerly known as the California Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA), sent a letter to 3,390 "select" members asking them to dig into their pockets to "sustain" CAC’s $7 million effort to create a broad-based citizens committee supportive of "consumer" attorneys and the civil justice system. CAC credits a small group of attorneys (i.e. $25,000+ donors) with raising the $7 million. The group expects to spend half of the $7 million investment to sustain its public education effort and develop a media presence. Television ads have started running in major media markets under the theme of "Protect Civil Justice." The first phase of that campaign will have the ads run through mid-December and then resume after the first of the year for a period of four to five weeks. CAC claims they are tired of having big business defame the trial lawyer profession over the past 30 years. Significantly, the "30 year" reference coincides with the 30th anniversary since enactment of MICRA, California’s landmark Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. The first and most successful tort reform effort in California has successfully relieved the liability insurance crisis that was undermining citizen access to health care when it was enacted. The Southern California-based strategic communications and issues and image management firm of Winner & Associates has been retained to help CAC with its campaign. This is the firm that recently worked on the successful California Stem Cell Initiative and also is credited with saving General Public Utilities from bankruptcy after the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident. Apparently Winner & Associates will work on public image issues to help the trial lawyers find a message that works best. Also retained to work on the campaign is George Lakoff, the darling of the Democratic Party and author of the best-seller, Don’t Think of An Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate. Lakoff has been retained to develop talking points and a message that resonates with the public and not only explains how important the civil justice system is, but why trial lawyers are an integral part of making that system work. Forewarned is an opportunity for medicine to be forearmed. Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP), which is a broad-based organization of physicians, dentists, hospitals, nursing homes, doctor-owned liability carriers, nurses, and other health care professionals, whose sole purpose is to protect MICRA, will need to be in the forefront of developing medicine’s campaign to protect MICRA. Since its inception in 1991, CAPP has frequently petitioned the Legislature, governor, and the courts whenever MICRA has been threatened, explaining why California’s fragile safety net for access to health care depends on MICRA’s continued viability. Since MICRA’s enactment in 1975, the trial lawyers have been attempting to overturn the Act or minimally increase the cap on noneconomic damages. If CAC’s efforts are successful in the coming year, the cost of practicing medicine would increase and as a result access to health care would be reduced. Taxpayers would be forced to pick up a greater share of the cost of health care if higher insurance risk drives doctors away, compels hospitals to cut uncompensated care to the uninsured, and pushes employers to reduce health insurance for workers. It is estimated that raising or eliminating MICRA’s cap on noneconomic damages would increase the number of Californians without health care insurance. Every 1 percent increase in health care costs would result in the loss of coverage for at least 30,000 Californians. If you are a newer physician and not familiar with all the provisions of this important Act, go on-line to CAPP’s Web site, www.micra.org to find a wealth of information about MICRA and the importance of preserving the benefits to medicine derived from this Act. Based on the information I have heard about CAC’s campaign, we will have our hands full in keeping MICRA intact. Changes to MICRA are likely to be debated in California this year. One legislator has stated publicly that he intends to introduce legislation to raise the MICRA ceiling on noneconomic damages to more than $900,000. CAPP, along with the CMA, AMA, and all county medical associations in California, such as SMCMA, will need to develop a coordinated campaign to protect MICRA and educate the public about why it is worth saving.
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