Law Talk

We believe in individual rights of our clients. The Texas Constitution states that every person for any injury done him in his land, goods, person, or reputation shall have due process of law. We believe our clients have a right to be fully compensated for the injuries inflicted upon them by the negligent conduct of others. We do not believe in special interest legislation that (1) that would restrict our client's constitutional rights for recovery; (2) that would restrict our client's right to hire a personal injury trial attorney on a contingent fee basis; or, (3) that would restrict our client's constitutional right to a trial by jury.

Before the current session of the United States and Texas Legislature there will be a vigorous tort reform campaign generated by special interest groups blaming trial lawyers for the high insurance rates doctors are required to pay for medical malpractice insurance. The special interest groups will be blaming victims and protecting wrong doers for problems caused by insurance companies that have made bad investments and pricing decisions relating to malpractice insurance premiums.

Approximately 5% of doctors are responsible for half of the medical malpractice in the United States. The failure to discipline the small percentage of doctors who cause the majority of the negligence has resulted in higher premiums for those doctors practicing in the same field of medicine. The public rarely finds out about a doctor's negligent conduct unless a lawsuit is filed. A doctor's negligent conduct can be kept secret from the public by the use of the peer review privilege. A peer review committee made up of physicians on the hospital staff may review a doctor's conduct and issue a warning or reprimand which is kept secret by State Law. Therefore, many patients never know that they have been victimized by the negligent conduct of their doctor.

According to the First Institute of Medicine (FIOM) report on medical errors from November 1999, there are an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 hospital inpatient deaths due to error annually. When compared to the annual death rate of 16,500 due to AIDS or the 32,000 persons killed by a gun each year, this estimate is staggering. The estimated death rate due to medical error does not reflect the untold number of medical errors that did not result in the death of a patient. Hospital - Patient Safety Standards, Joint Commission Resources