Reform THIS tort...

You may recall that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called Mississippi a "judicial hell hole" because of all those attorneys filing all those frivolous lawsuits there. A couple of years ago, George W. Bush went to Mississippi and declared a medical crisis because there weren't enough ob-gyn's to, you know, practice their love with the women of that state.

But the Biloxi Sun Herald could find no data to support claims that doctors were leaving Mississippi to practice their love elsewhere. The newspaper also found that Mississippi's malpractice insurance rates were no higher than that of several other states, and that Mississippi was below the national average for personal injury awards, malpractice awards, and claims per doctor. The Mississippi Medical Association could provide no data at all to support any of its claims.

And now we have some new information: A survey of 2001 case filings in Mississippi show that businesses there were 5.8 times more likely than individuals to file lawsuits. The study also looked at Arkansas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Cook County, Illinois. All showed similar results. In addition--and more interesting--the study found that federal judges exact penalties on businesses for tying up the courts with frivolous claims more often than they punish trial lawyers representing individuals.

And finally, in Cook County in 2002, insurance companies filed 35 times more lawsuits than individuals, and in 2003, those companies asked to be exempted from a court reform bill that would have restricted filings.

Tort reform may be needed, but not the kind the White House and the insurance industry is trying to hoist on us. The news media is, of course, silent on this issue.