Jan. 10, 4:30 p.m.: The wrong kind of malpractice reform

The president’s fix misses the mark. He should be focusing on bad doctors and not lawsuits.

By: Hank Kalet
   President George W. Bush wants us to believe that lawyers are responsible for an explosion of lawsuits that he says are driving up malpractice premiums for doctors. I suggest he read today’s Boston Globe editorial. He just may learn something.
   That assumes, however that his interest is in addressing the rising number of malpractice cases and not in gutting a tort system that is too often the only place for average citizens to demand justice from incompetent doctors (and major corporations — anyone who thinks that tort reform will affect only the medical industry just doesn’t know anything about this president or the issue as it’s been framed by the corporate world).