Argument Essay: Opposing Tort Reform

After reviewing the videos and reading the articles, Leibeck v. McDonald’s case involves the tort of negligence. In the textbook, The Legal and Ethical Environment of Business, negligence is stated, “All persons, as established by state tort law, have the duty to act reasonably and to exercise a reasonable amount of care in their dealings and interactions with others. Breach of that duty, which causes injury, is negligence” (Lau, 2012, p. 223). Due to McDonald’s negligence and callous behavior regarding the temperature of the coffee served, Stella Liebeck suffered third-degree burns when she spilled the coffee in her lap. “Negligence is about breaching the duty we owe others, as determined by sate tort law” (Lau, 2012, p. 223). In fact, McDonald’s

After viewing the short documentary “Hot Coffee” my opinions surrounding tort law and tort reform had changed significantly. Tort reform is the attempt to create greater restrictions on lawsuits, make it more difficult to obtain a jury in civil court, and create restrictions on how much compensation can be won in court. The Leibeck case is one of the most well known tort law cases and, due to the fact that many people are unaware of the details of this case, has given those attempting to create tort reform an advantage by enforcing the stereotype that all tort cases are frivolous lawsuits. This case has convinced many that tort reform is necessary to create ‘caps on damages’ for lawsuits. The general publics understanding of this case was that an elderly woman spilled

When it comes to Tort Reform I am NOT all for this law. I think that individuals have the right to compensation for life if they have sustained life lasting injuries. However, it has been stated per http://www.hg.org/article that Tort Reform doesn’t involve a single law. Torts are known to be the “essence of legal wrongs that infringe the rights of another that leads to some form of civil liability” each tort reform law is different but share the same goal. For example:

A local Colorado woman filed a lawsuit against Starbucks due to a drive-thru malfunction. The woman claims that a hot tea spill severely burned her and also killed her dog. Her claim is that the employee who served her did not secure the lid to her tea and also did not use the Starbucks sleeve for hot beverages. Due to this incident, the woman was forced to undergo skin grafts to treat her burns. The other tragedy is that after being rushed to an emergency veterinarian her dog died due to the injuries he received from the hot tea spill. While this case occurred in September of 2015, it was transferred from state to federal court on Wednesday September 16th 2017. During the trial Starbucks released a statement that said while they feel sympathy

he Tort Law is a civil injury or wrongful act that is committed against another person or property resulting in harm and his compensated by money damages. To sue for a tort a person must have suffered a mental or physical injury that was caused by the physician or the physician's employee. The tort reform is a "group of ideas and laws designed to change the way or civl justice system works." The tort reform movement was started in 1970 and headed up by insurance companies and large corporations in which to attack the civil justice system and change laws not by case by case but by legislation.

In "The Effect of Medical Malpractice Liability on the Delivery of Health Care,” Daniel Weinberg discusses the effects of “ medical malpractice liability on the delivery of health care in the United States.” Weinberg approaches this topic in several different ways by breaking it down into parts. He focuses on “physician workforce, physician income and patients' access to care.” Weinberg discusses the affect medical malpractice is having on people in certain aspects of the medical field and also how it is affecting those who are seeking medical attention. One of the main topics that Weinberg talks about is how medical malpractice affects physicians and if it cause them to use defensive medicine, which goes into how some people believe that defensive medicine can be a waste of money and affect how the patients are

Opponents of tort reform state that the purposes of such tort actions are a protection for the patient and that placing caps on the amount of damages awarded

In the year of 1992, Stella Liebeck was driven to a local McDonald’s where she ordered a cup of 49 cent coffee to go. While riding in her grandson’s Ford the car did not come furnished with cup holders so he pulled into an empty parking space once she received the coffee she placed the cup in between her legs opening the lid to pour cream and sugar and ended up spilling the coffee in her lap causing her to get 3rd degree burns scolding her buttocks, thighs and her groin area. The facts of the case are that according the McDonald’s manual the temperature of the coffee is supposed to be served at a temperature of 180-190 degrees but the plaintiff attorney argued the temperature should not be any hotter than 140 degrees. If the McDonald’s franchise decides to lower the

The Liebeck vs. McDonald’s Restaurants case was one of the biggest tort reform cases. A tort is a term used for a personal injury, which allows the injured party to receive compensation for injuries and damages. The American legal system allows anyone in accordance to the law taking the proper steps to sue a person or corporation that may be responsible for his or her injuries. This case is still one that people argue today about whether this was negligence on behalf of the plaintiff, while some argue this was a product liability case. After this famous case was over and utilizing comparative negligence principles, state bills were created that limited the monetary amount that could be sought in corporate lawsuits.

One of many rudimentary rules in the health care field, maleficence, means “To do no harm.” Unfortunately, medical malpractice has been skyrocketing over the years. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), the United States was experiencing its third full blown medicine liability crisis where many physicians’ practices became limited due to increased malpractice costs (Ellington, 2010, p. 127). Sage (2012) believes the United States has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and a high rate of litigation. The healthcare delivery system is viewed as far from ideal and may be the primary cause for high unjustified medical spending. Additionally, this method of delivery system is causing massive financial damages; however it is awarding to plaintiffs.

The purpose of this letter is to bring attention to a current issue regarding medical malpractice companies. I strongly believe something should be done to limit the amount of profit received from these private insurers. In “How The Industry Used Tort Reform to Increase Profits While Americans’ Premiums soared”, by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), explains that even though some would think caps will lower the annual premiums for physicians and patients it is, in fact, increasing the company’s profit. The AAJ reports that “in states with caps” these medical malpractice companies and insurance agencies have higher profits of “24 percent”.

On Saturday, August 29, 2015, I found out the truth behind this very misunderstood case. We watched a film in class that covered this exact issue and incorporated facts to which most of us were unaware of. Between the years of 1983 and 1992, McDonald’s had over 700 claims that reported customers similarly burning themselves from the extreme temperature of its coffee. Ignoring these claims, McDonald’s blatantly sustained its course of business and continued brewing its coffee between the temperatures of 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Hearing this information in class I felt ashamed that I once felt this harmless lady, Stella Liebeck, was merely an opportunist seeking an inflated

Most hospitals, staff nurse and physicians biggest fear, is being sued for malpractice. As health care providers, we strive to do right by the patient, always practicing safety first. Medical malpractice, periodically referred to as medical negligence, it happens when a health care provider violates the governing standard of care when providing treatment to a patient, the source the patient to suffer an injury. The United States malpractice system has two objectives: to compensate patients who are injured through negligence by a healthcare provider and to discourage health care providers from practicing negligently Malpractice is a

Later, in the late 1900’s, tort evolved into more personal injury and wrongful death cases. One case that really kicked off and defined this new evolution was the Goodman v. Yuba Power Products trial in 1963. Yuba produced a tool called the Shopsmith, a saw, drill, and wood lathe all in one. This tool, even when assembled correctly, caused injuries so it was brought to court. The plaintiffs (or the ones bringing the case to court) won large damages to compensate for the injuries caused, This case was the precedent to what we recognize as tort law (Aliprandini and Walter

According to Showalter (2015), medical malpractice is a form of negligence and negligence is a sub-category of torts that fall under civil law (p. 104). Some cases brought against healthcare providers fall under the category of intentional torts or breach of contract. However, this paper will focus on negligence cases and how elements of a contract establish a duty of care. Brodnick, Rinehart-Thompson & Reynolds (2017) state, “Medical malpractice and negligence are often used interchangeably because negligence is the basis for most (but not all) medical malpractice lawsuits”. As further