Tort reform, but what?

Abstract

Nearly every healthcare reform plan introduced in Congress this year addresses medical malpractice. Although the tort reform goals in the plans may be similar, the methods of achieving them differ substantially. To highlight the areas that need to be resolved, we set up a dialogue between a physician and a plaintiff's attorney. The differing perspectives of Edward R. Annis, MD, former president of the American Medical Association, and Barry J. Nace, JD, past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, exemplify the challenges legislators face.

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Notes on contributors

Edward R. Annis

Edward R. Annis, MD Dr Annis is past president of the American Medical Association and the World Medical Association. He currently serves on the advisory board of Freedom in Medicine, a patient-physician coalition educational foundation, and as chairman of the speakers' bureau of the Florida Medical Association. Dr Annis is a retired general surgeon and author of Code Blue: Health Care in Crisis. He lives in Miami Shores, Florida.

Barry J. Nace

Barry J. Nace, JD Mr Nace is past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and a partner in Paulson, Nace, & Norwind in Washington, DC. His primary areas of practice are medical malpractice and drug product liability.