Press Coverage of Caps

Last year an Illinois judge declared noneconomic damage caps unconstitutional in LeBron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (we blogged on it). Now the Illinois high court is getting ready to hear Gottlieb’s appeal, so we again get to hear the same old “tort reform” arguments. The other day we came across this story from a supposedly “unbiased” source, Medill Reports (part of Northwestern University).

This article reads like a press release from a “tort reform” group. It doesn’t mention any consumer advocates or victims, but instead heavily quotes groups like the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) and the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA). It really gives a one-sided version of the issue. What’s so upsetting to me is that this article is indicative of much of the press coverage on the subject. It tows the line of big medicine and insurance and ignores who caps really hurt – the people. In a journalistic story about caps on damages, I think it would be important to offer the perspective of someone whose way of life has been forever changed by a preventable error. That’s what “tort reformers” hide and much of the media ignores when they talk about this issue.