Tort reform refers to the changes proposed in the civil justice system that aims to reduce tort damages and legal processes. It was created so as to outline compensation methods for wrongs committed by an individual to another person's property or interests. This system also includes damages inflicted on an individual physically and his or her reputation. Tort reform has turned out to be a heated political issue in the U.S. in pursuit of procedural restrictions on the ability to file claims on the awards of damages (Bloustein & Pallone, 2018). However, in Commonwealth countries court fees are paid and a variety of other legal fees by any party who initiates liability lawsuit should they lose the case. These technical obligations reduce the number of tort cases that are brought to the court annually. The fundamentals of a tort system require that the individuals at fault should compensate the victims with a package. Generally, typical harm includes any action that causes a loss of income this can be either medicals cost that the victim may incur as a result of treatment.
The major purpose of tort law is to provide full compensation for the damages that have been confirmed, and the harm affirmed through the actions of the aggressors. The purpose of the reforms is to fix certain problems in tort cases and injury law (Delgado, 2018). Some of the problems include; cases in which the jury gives a large amount for damages to the plaintiff, courts overrunning with individual injury cases and cases that are brought into the court late after the injury. Proposed fixes in the tort vary although most of them focus on limiting the amount of compensation available when a tort lawsuit succeeds and a number of lawsuits.
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Contents of New York Tort Law
New York's tort laws are different from those from other states. These aspects include:
Damage Limitations
These are awards paid out to victims to compensate them for losses. In New York monetary damages are not limited in a lawsuit, however, this is not the case for many states. There is also no cap in medical malpractices although new ideas are being introduced regarding this.
Statute of Limitation
This defines a period when a lawsuit may be filled. For instance, a tort case should be filed within a period of one year after a tort incidence has occurred. In other cases, such as medical malpractices suit they must be filed within 2years and six months since the incidence.
Tort Law and Divorce Overlap
Torts in divorce usually come up after one of the partners complains of abuse. As such, New York has tort laws that in most cases affect the outcome of the proceeding. For example, a divorce victim can include a statement of inhumane and cruel treatment in his or her lawsuit.
On the other hand, these tort reforms proposals include:
Limiting Lawsuits
Tort lawsuits have become many in the courts, therefore, reforms are being made in order to reduce the number of this cases presented in the court. Different approaches have been suggested, but the common one is the statute of limitations which is responsible for limiting the amount of time for filing a tort suit by the victim (Ross, 2017). This creates a bigger hurdle for victims who have been affected on a long-term basis for example cancer develops after exposure to harmful products usually takes years to develop. However, it is also to the benefit of the victims for it allows the tort suit to be heard when the evidence can be examined still fresh. The statute of limitation also turns out to be of benefit by not allowing old cases to be heard, therefore, reducing overrunning of cases in the courts.
Limiting of Damages
A tort reform that is responsible for limiting damages usually an emphasis on damages that are not of economic value like punitive damages. These are extra amounts of money given to the plaintiff beyond the harm they suffered this mostly affect drivers and victims of car accidents. For instance, in auto accidents that might have coated the victims a thousand dollars in damage to the victim's car and four thousand dollars in medical bills because of injuries the compensatory damages should amount to five thousand dollars (Nonet, Selznick, & Kagan, 2017). The jury while coming up with a decision may decide that the offender should pay you an extra five thousand dollars. The extra amount of money is referred to as the punitive damages. Most tort laws focus on punitive damages like those for suffering and pain. This tort reform will be of benefit not only to the motorist but also to other victims.
Apology Statutes
This has been proposed to be introduced in the medical sector. Laws have already been passed by thirty-five states in the US with an aim to encourage empathy to patients who have been injured. However, this law had actually been embraced before by four other states. Another fact about this law is that, doctor's apology cannot be used in the court as evidence in a tort suit. This tort reform is mostly in favor of patients more than doctors for it makes them feel emotionally at peace after getting an award as a form of apology from the doctors.
Medical Screening Panels
In an effort to reduce overrunning of cases in courts this reform requires the suits to be submitted to an expert panel which will determine their validity. Twenty states have already embraced this tort reform. Medical torts suits are usually filed by patients that have been affected by doctors' due to simple errors and malpractices during treatment. This approach will favor doctors for it will help in the elimination of frivolous cases. However, analysis of these cases has not really been successful since in most cases the information provided is insufficient.
Controversies Surrounding the Reforms
Some state members are in support of the reforms while others view it as a hurdle. Those in support of it view it as a way of reducing the number of frivolous and pointless lawsuits thus; allowing the court more time to deal with more pressing cases. Advocates also claim that this reform will reduce the chances of physicians, manufacturers, and organizations from being included in personal lawsuits since the reforms will protect them. It will also save organizations money that they would have on compensation in case a tort suit was filed against them. Other individuals oppose tort reforms by arguing that modify the justice system without fixing anything. Notably, they think that tort reforms protect offenders such as manufactures, physicians, and businesspeople from facing lawsuits.
In conclusion, the reforms affect all American citizens at different levels. While some view it to be of benefit to them others wish more changes should be done. It will also save organizations money that they would have on compensation in case a tort suit was filed against them. Other individuals oppose tort reforms by arguing that modify the justice system without fixing anything. Notably, they think that tort reforms protect offenders such as manufactures, physicians, and people in business from facing lawsuits.
References
Bloustein, E. J., & Pallone, N. J. (2018). Individual and group privacy . Routledge.
Delgado, R. (2018). Words that wound: A tort action for racial insults, epithets, and name calling. In Words that wound (pp. 89-110). Routledge.
Nonet, P., Selznick, P., & Kagan, R. A. (2017). Law and society in transition: Toward responsive law . Routledge.
Ross, H. L. (2017). Settled out of court: The social process of insurance claims adjustments . Routledge.
