Senators propose "loser pays" legislation for med mal cases

The TortsProf Blog is reporting that Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) have introduced a bill that would require the loser to pay the winner in some medical malpractice suits. Go here and here for the story. This is a spectacularly bad idea. It is based on the faulty notion that just because a case is lost or because the jury award is lower than expected it means the case is by definition "frivolous." There is always a risk in taking a case to trial and this bill would just make it more difficult for patients-victims of medical malpractice to find representation. Like all tort reform measures the bills seeks to make it more difficult for victims of accidents to get access to compensantion. It will achieve that goal, but not for the right reasons or in a fair way. For comments on the bill go here and here.