Commentary on tort reform

The blog "Tort Burger" posted two posts today with links to articles on tort reform. The first one is an article in the Detroit Free Press by Jim Marcinkowski titled “Tort Reform Made Simple” that Tort Burger states "does a good job of breaking down the workings of the legal system and what it is that tort reform seeks to do. Marcinkowski explains the concept of tort law and the reform movement as follows: 1. Accident happens; 2. Injury does not go away; 3. The injury costs money (medical, lost wage, etc.); 4. Compensation – either the responsible party pays or the government pays; 5. Tort reform seeks to lower the costs of doing business by shifting the burden of these costs on to the public. He summarizes the analysis by making the statement, “Tort reform is.. just another mechanism to increase private profit by socializing any cost or loss.”" The second one is about an editorial in the Oklahoman about a tort reform bill passed last year in Oklahoma.