Tort Reform: New York: Shutting Off the Money Faucet A tort is wrongful interference against a person or property, other than breaches of contract, for which the courts can rectify through legal action. The reform effort is aimed at reducing the number of unnecessary lawsuits that burden the court system while still allowing injured parties compensation when they’ve been wronged. This latest effort at tort reform has given rise to the same spirited rhetoric that might be found in a courtroom. With the prominence of the tort reform debate on state legislative floors across the country, many states have introduced and even passed bills that address reform issues within their respective states. Many reform proponents feel that changes in the civil justice system should be left to the states. The alternative, congressional regulation, presents more old big government solutions and the problems that accompany it. Thirty-nine states have already enacted statutory ceilings on pain and suffering awards, which may be recovered from public entities. Thirty-seven of these states cap economic damages in addition to the capping of pain and suffering damages. Two states limit pain and suffering damages regardless of whether the defendant is public or private. Two other states do not permit a pain and suffering recovery at all unless the claimant has suffered permanent loss of a bodily function, dismemberment or disfigurement; and satisfies a medical expense threshold. New York urgently needs to follow suit, because it is a sitting duck for frivolous tort litigation.New York is in the grip of a litigation explosion that is clogging their courts and slowing their economy. According to the “Tort Reformer” over 84,000 new lawsuits are brought every year...that’s the equivalent of more than 300 suits being filed on every business day. When a deranged tort system destroys an industry – driving people out of jobs...
