[Tommy]

I have no doubt that accomplishing tort reform would be difficult for all the reasons Excaliber mentioned, in spite of the fact that it would benefit virtually everyone except the trial lawyers and the politicians who are in their pockets. As I understand it, in virtually every other modern country, citizens my sue parties to retrieve actual losses. But they may not recover punitive damages, which is where the big money is for lawyers and litigation minded plaintiffs. In other countries, punitive action is accomplished via criminal courts. Thus a drunk surgeon who operated on a patient would be responsible for the cost of correcting any damage he caused and that's it. If punitive measures were to be taken, they would be taken in criminal court. It seems to me that if care providers who acted improperly risked criminal sanctions rather than rising insurance premiums, they might be more careful.