ATRA Releases Annual List of Juducial Hellholes, Motivates Medical Malpractice Reform
side note: This week, the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) released its annual Judicial Hellholes Report. Since 2002, the Judicial Hellholes Report has documented in annually published reports various abuses within the civil justice system, focusing primarily on jurisdictions where courts are radically out of balance. This list has been an invaluable tool in educating state and local politicians about out-of-control jurisdictions that impede business and threaten access to healthcare. It has also motivated legislative reform of medical malpractice laws across the country.
No surprise, Philadelphia topped the Judicial Hellholes list for 2011/2012. Known for its tradition of venue shopping, weak joint-and-several liability as well as disproportionate jury verdicts, the City of Brotherly Love has been in the ATRA’s sites for some time. Of course, South Florida made the list as well as perennial Hellholes like Cook, Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois.
What’s new to this year’s report is an expanded “Points of Light” section, where states that have made tort reform advances get their props. And this year, there has been a lot of tort reform props to go around.
This year might someday be looked back upon as the year of tort reform. Riding a red wave of conservatism in the 2010 elections, new Republican majorities in statehouses across the country tackled lawsuit reform with gusto. More than 40 new tort reform measures passed in states across the country, including “big wins” in Alabama, Arizona, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, among others.
Washington, DC, December 15, 2011 — The American Tort Reform Association today released its annual Judicial Hellholes report, documenting abuses of the civil justice system in jurisdictions it says are among the most unfair and out-of-balance in the nation.
Editor’s note: This article was removed from the ATRA’s website. Here is a link to the full report.
