Consumer advocate Ralph Nader attacked President Bush Feb. 12 for
misleading Americans in his State of the Union speech and other speeches
about the need for medical liability reform because hospitals and
physicians are having their costs rise to unacceptably high levels as
the result of "frivolous lawsuits."
"You need to substantiate your claims of 'frivolous
lawsuits' with more than mere assertion," he wrote.
"Judges know how to throw out of court any 'frivolous
lawsuits,' and the truth is that jury verdicts and court payouts
have decreased over the past year.
"So, while you continually argue that a nationwide cap on
medical malpractice damages would drive down health care costs, the
evidence simply does not substantiate your claim."
He said the administration's proposed caps on awards
"rewards insurance company greed, avarice, and dishonesty by
absolving them of their responsibility to injured Americans" and
"protects those guilty of mismanaging insurance company
investments."
He reminds Bush he was "a fierce defender of states'
rights as the governor of Texas" and asks: "Has states'
rights, as a fundamental tenet of the Republican Party platform, been
tossed out of the window along with fiscal conservatism by your
administration?"
Nader was the Green Party candidate for president in the last
presidential campaign.
He has not announced yet whether he will be a candidate in the
upcoming election.
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