Justice Elusive in Madison County

For too long, Madison County has been hit with a two-fold crisis: high medical liability costs paired with possibly the most plaintiff-friendly legal system in the country. At a June 5 press conference at the Madison County Court House Plaza, a coalition of national, state and local organizations called for an end to the "dysfunctional court system in Madison County."

According to a manifesto issued at the press conference, the existing "abusive litigation environment" denies due process to citizens and businesses and, among other things, causes "threatened access to health care." The manifesto calls for governing bodies to ensure court adherence to 10 principles, including:

Compensatory damage awards should be based on proven and actual economic losses; there should be reasonable limits on non-economic damages.

Because of the litigious nature of Madison County and its parallel medical malpractice rates, physician recruitment (especially for medical or surgical specialists) has become an almost impossible challenge. Recognizing that patient access to specialty physicians has become severely compromised, ISMIE will push onward for national tort reform. No doubt the voices of Madison County's medical community will be heard above the crowd on these issues, too.