Tort Reform Pros and Cons List
Tort reform is something that has been raising lot of controversy lately and along with the controversy, a lot of questions keep on coming up as well as a lot of wrong information. We need to remember that there are two sides to everything and in this article, we want to go a little bit into the two sides of the tort reform.
Before we get into the pros and cons we need to know what is the meaning of the word “tort”. The word tort is used to describe some type of civil wrong doing. Not only is it civil harm, but it has to do damage or loss to someone so that it can be classified as tort. For example, we can tell that negligence is one of the most common types of tort and that is something that the tort reform is looking to change. As of right now, a lot of people feel like the tort laws are incredibly unfair towards the person in fault, since this person is required to pay ridiculously high amounts of compensation.
Pros of Tort Reform
1. The Court Costs Go Down.
There are a lot of personal injury lawsuits happening on a daily basis and that is taking a toll on the finances court systems have. The change in current tort laws is going to reduce the amount of lawsuits that keep on occurring, and that, as a consequence, is going to reduce the costs spending their money and time hearing out these issues.
A lot of people believe that courts should be worrying about more important cases instead of small issues, and in order to save the courts some time and money, these people believe that the tort reform is a necessity. If the changes are made to current laws, a lot of people feel like the system would improve.
2. There Will Be a Better Use For Juries.
With the same line of thought we used in the first part of the pros, we can conclude that juries would then not be used on frivolous cases and as such, they would only be used in cases of bigger importance. The reduction of tort cases would then keep increasing the gains courts have regarding time and money expenses.
3. Corporations And Insurance Companies Would Have Some Help.
If we see a reduction in the number of tort cases we can assume that a lot of people would stop being found guilty and at the same time, a lot of people would get away with things they should not have done – while the exact opposite can occur as well, of course. As such, a lot of corporation as well as insurance companies would manage to get away with paying for punitive damages that they had to pay in the past. This, of course, shields them from being sued.
Cons of Tort Reform
1. It’s Harder On The Victim.
The tort reform is actually going to make the victim’s life a lot harder by placing restrictions in front of the victim and making it harder for the victim to make its case. One thing that is certainly going to make a difference is that the time frames are going to be reduce and as such, injured parties are going to have a huge burden before they actually manage to state their case properly.
2. Person In Fault Might Not Be Impacted.
The biggest problem with the tort reform is that the person at fault might get away with a lot of things since the injured party is going to have its life made harder. Unfortunately, the person accused of fault is actually going to be protected by the tort reform and no matter what pros this type of measure has, it is hard to imagine that this is going to be fair for everyone.
3. There Might Be An Increase In Tort Cases.
Since the person at fault is going to be protected by the system, a lot of people and wrongdoers might realize this and use it to their advantage. We live in a world where a lot of people don’t care about the others and they just look at themselves and if the system gives them a chance to strike while being protected, that is just what they might end up doing.
As part of the reform, the damages that need to be paid in compensation are also going to be limited and as such, even if the person at fault has to actually paid for whatever he or she did, the amount is still not going to be too high.
What Should You Decide?
Both sides struggle to decide whether or not the tort reform is a necessary act or not. As such, and to help you make up your mind, we’re here to give you the pros and cons of the tort reform. Even if you can’t reach a decision, at least you’ll be informed.