subject: North Carolina Legislatures Push for Insurance Company Bailout at Taxpayer Expense [print this page] North Carolina Legislatures Push for Insurance Company Bailout at Taxpayer Expense
Republican legislatures in both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly currently seek to pass new tort reform measures under a bill entitled, "Tort Reform for Citizens and Businesses Bill." Many critics of this bill have begun calling it the "Liability Insurance Bailout Bill," as its effect if enacted into law will be to generate larger profits for liability insurance companies at the expense of the rights of working class North Carolinians.
The bill, currently pending in the House Select Committee on Tort Reform, includes the following provisions:
Billed v. Paid. For every North Carolinian injured or killed by someone else's wrongdoing, the bill would give a credit to the Defendant and their insurance company if the innocent victim bought and paid for their own medical insurance and uses that insurance to pay their hospital bills. The bill allows the wrongdoer's insurance company to reduce the amount they owe the injured victim using the victim's own health insurance.
Elimination of the Collateral Source Rule. This 80 year old rule of evidence currently prevents either side from mentioning the existence or non-existence of any type of insurance or collateral payment in the case. The rule was enacted and has a proven track record of preventing unfair and excessive verdicts for both the Plaintiff and Defendant in civil cases. The bill removes all collateral source protection to the Plaintiff, but leaves intact all protection for the Defendant and will deprive North Carolina juries of the information they need to make a fair and just decision on the case. Additionally, the Defendant's liability insurance company will be able to introduce collateral source evidence at trial and receive a credit for the victim's own insurance.
Limitations on Attorneys' Fees. This bill provision will make it cost prohibitivefor damaged victims to sue on automobile accident cases and will allow the insurance companies to pay whatever they want on these small cases.Often, the insurance companies have a track record of offering a victim muchless than the medical bills the victim incurred even when the fault of their insured is clear.
Legalized Negligence for Emergency Room Physicians. The bill contains provisions that would insulate emergency room physicians from any and all liability for wrongdoing unless it can be shown the emergency physician engaged in intentional misconduct.
Supporters of the bill argue that the reforms are necessary to create jobs for North Carolinians, and to prevent good doctors from leaving the State. However, opponents argue that the Republican supporters of the legislation have presented no facts or rationale to support what amounts to a dismantling of the civil justice system in North Carolina.
Currently, North Carolina is ranked No. 1 by Site Selection Magazine as the most "business-friendly" State. North Carolina has one of the most restrictive products liability statutes in the county, and is one of only four states still adhering to the doctrine of contributory negligence. This doctrine of law holds that if a person contributes to their injury as little at one-percent, they are barred from any recovery. The majority of states in the country have adopted a less harsh doctrine of law.
Campaign finance records show that many of the supporters of the Tort Reform for Citizens and Businesses Bill received campaign contributions from liability insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, medical special interest groups, and insurance trade associations. The House Select Committee on Tort Reform is scheduled to have a public hearing on the bill on March 31, 2011. It is unclear whether Governor Purdue will sign the bill into law should it pass both chambers of the General Assembly.
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