Mississippi Injury Lawyer Blog

Tort Reform debate is a red herring in Mississippi and other states

Over the last couple months, the "Tort Reform" debate has heated up again. With Washington looking at health insurance reforms, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their many mouthpieces are talking about the need for more tort reform. Folks, it's a red herring. The high cost of health insurance is not due to out-of-control lawsuits brought by evil plaintiff attorneys. The facts prove it.

One of the great myths perpetuated during these tort reform debates is that doctors are practicing defensive medicine because they are afraid if they don't run the test, they will be sued. This myth was busted by a number of reports showing defensive medicine is motivated more by profits for doctors who are making money when they send patients for medical imaging. The New Yorker ran a great piece about the high costs of medical care in McAllen, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported on the increase of medical imaging in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and doctor discussed his first-hand experience with over-utilization as a patient.

Indicative of the myth is a great exchange between local two McAllen, Texas doctors in the New Yorker article:

"McAllen is legal hell," the cardiologist agreed. Doctors order unnecessary tests just to protect themselves, he said. Everyone thought the lawyers here were worse than elsewhere.

That explanation puzzled me. Several years ago, Texas passed a tough malpractice law that capped pain-and-suffering awards at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Didn't lawsuits go down? "Practically to zero," the cardiologist admitted.

"Come on," the general surgeon finally said. "We all know these arguments are bull---t. There is overutilization here, pure and simple." Doctors, he said, were racking up charges with extra tests, services, and procedures.

Another great myth perpetuated during the tort reform debate is that doctors are leaving the state due to out of control lawsuits. This was a big one used by Mississippi's governor. However, facts prove otherwise. A recent article reported there was no decrease in the number of doctors in Mississippi. It stated, "Information compiled by the American Medical Association ... shows that the number of physicians in Mississippi rose steadily in years leading up to tort-reform legislation in 2004, and even slowed its increased following 2004."

So let's put the "tort reform" punching bag away and get down to studying the true problems of our health care system and the need for reform.

h/t: ThePopTort.com has a number of articles on this issue at here, here, here, and here.

Information provided by Robert Kisselburgh, Mississippi Accident Injury Attorney

Ex-attorney says Toyota destroyed and withheld evidence in rollover cases

The news just got bad for Toyota Motors with the filing of a lawsuit by an ex-attorney for Toyota. Dimitrios Biller dropped a bombshell when he sued Toyota Motors Corporation in July claiming that the U.S. unit of Toyota destroyed evidence and ignored court orders to turn over electronically stored data in a number of rollover cases. According to the Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court, Central California, Toyota Motor Corporation, its U.S. subsidiaries and a number of key Toyota executives, "conspired, and continue to conspire, to unlawfully withhold evidence from plaintiffs and obstruct justice in lawsuits throughout the United States against Toyota."

Biller, who worked for Toyota from 2003 until 2007, was the former National Managing Counsel in charge of Toyota's National Rollover Program. Essentially, Biller coordinated discovery responses for Toyota in cases where it had been sued by those injured in a Toyota vehicle and claimed a rollover defect caused their injuries. Having handled these types of cases before, the argument is usually the vehicle was defectively designed because it did not protect the occupants of the vehicle during a rollover accident given the roof crushed into the passenger compartment. Many times, the roof crush results in death and/or quadriplegia/paraplegia. In the United States, there are minimum standards vehicle manufacturers must adhere to in order to protect occupants during a rollover crash.

According to Biller, when he took over his role as coordinating attorney, he found Toyota was not producing certain electronically stored information. In today's world, that is a lot of data. More disconcerting is that Toyota was ordered by a number of different state and federal courts to produce the material, but Biller alleges he was instructed not to comply with the orders. As Biller stated in his complaint, when he sought to ignore his superiors' orders not to produce the material, he was told by a superior to obey the Golden Rule--"protect the client at all cost even if that means committing illegal actions."

Now, Mr. Biller is suing for Toyota terminating his employment; however, Toyota's bigger concerns are the hundreds of cases impacted by Toyota's alleged conduct. Not surprisingly, Toyota responded to this lawsuit by seeking to seal the records. Oops. Too late. If these allegations are true, Toyota Motor Corporation is facing some huge legal problems. Many of those litigants impacted by Toyota's wrongful conduct will file lawsuits seeking to reopen the cases. Today, CBS News reported a class action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, California, seeking to represent all plaintiffs who lost or settled cases in which Toyota allegedly concealed evidence.

There are also allegations Toyota withheld relevant data from a federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), charged with ensuring vehicles sold in the United States meets certain minimum safety standards. When the U.S. Government suggested that the standards for minimum roof crush be strengthened (FMVSS 216), it asked manufacturers for information regarding the proposed changes. Biller alleges Toyota

"withheld the original engineering report concluding that [Toyota] could start manufacturing vehicles under the standard... Instead, [Toyota] hired another engineering firm to give a second, different opinion, and that second report was provided to NHTSA. The original report never was provided and was 'buried.'"

If you or a loved one has been injured in a rollover accident, you should contat an attorney to discuss your legal rights. At the Kisselburgh Law Firm, we have experience in representing those injured by defective vehicles. Contact us online or call us at 601-936-4040.

Hattiesburg drunk driver kills University of Southern Mississippi student

Early this morning in Hattiesburg, a drunk driver broadsided a car carrying four University of Southern Mississippi students, killing one and critically injuring another. University of Southern Mississippi freshman Lejulia Dorothy White was killed while another student was critically injured. Two others suffered non-life threatening injuries according to reports. The driver of the SUV was arrested on DUI death charges.

This is every parent's nightmare as students go off to college. With the Labor Day weekend approaching, police are stepping up patrols in an attempt to cut down on drunk driving but unfortunately, these senseless tragedies still occur.

The Kisselburgh Law Firm is a Mississippi injury law firm which handles all types of
cases involving serious injury or death including drunk driving accidents, car accidents, tractor-trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, and injuries from defective products. If you have questions, call us at 601.936.4040 or contact us online.