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More than 20 Chattanooga area business leaders had the ear of the U.S. Senate Majority Leader for more than an hour on February 21, as Sen. Bill Frist listened to their concerns during a roundtable discussion on legal reform in the Chamber Board Room.
The meeting, convened at the request of the senior senator from Tennessee, was co-hosted by the Chamber and the Chattanooga Manufacturers’ Association. Congressman Zach Wamp, Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and County Mayor Claude Ramsey also attended the meeting. |
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Frist pointed out that President Bush had recently signed the biggest change in tort reform laws in more than a decade. He said the legislation that will offer protection from "predatory lawyers filing junk suits in lawyer-friendly states" is the first in series of laws he hopes to see enacted that will limit consumer bankruptcies, reform asbestos and gun litigation and reduce the number of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits.
"We have a class-action litigation system that is out-of-balance and not serving the interests of consumers or the country as a whole," Frist said. "The tort system currently costs five cents on every dollar of wages."
Frist made a point of hearing from every businessperson at the table. He listened as Don Brock, CEO of Astec Industries, called for achange in liability for products manufactured over 15 years ago, noting that 50 percent of product liability litigation is on equipment from 15 to 20 years old.
"We certainly try to do what we can to make our products as safe as possible, and we have absolutely no problem paying for any legitimate damages that we may be responsible for causing," Brock said. "But the legal costs alone of fighting these lawsuits, many of which we believe are baseless, costs us two to four million dollars a year."
Frist also heard from UnumProvident Vice President Tom White.The disability insurance executive pointed out that while UnumProvident is facing nearly two dozen class-action lawsuits, the company’s customer retention rate has never been higher. "Our customers like our services and products," White said.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee CEO Vicky Gregg noted that 70 percent of physicians who have been in business for 10 years in Tennessee have been sued for malpractice. As a consequence, she said doctors are likely to overtreat patients thus driving medical costs higher, and Frist, a heart surgeon, said other consequences are an unwillingness among physicians to deliver babies or staff trauma units.
Chattem President Zan Guerry called attention to the plight of drug companies who manufacture and sell products approved by the Food and Drug Administration and then have to pay out huge sums to settle lawsuits stemming from an ingredient previously approved by the FDA. "The FDA should besome sort of seal of approval," he said.
Business leaders also called for addressing the spiraling costs of Medicare, comprehensive Social Security reform, and next-generation highway legislation that would provide separate freeways for trucks and cars. |
