Fw: Mississippi Gaining as Lawsuit Mecca

[Guest guest]

FYI!

MM / NSIF

----- Original Message ----- From: ParfumGigi@...

IceMaidenZ@...

Cc: MAM-NSIF@... ; lillian45usa2000@... ; SamnH@... ; SBIPrayerForum ; pat2end@... ; Kathynye@... ; MMRM1014@... ; lorenn@... ; Bgreen286@... ; Brl1949@... ; UBCDan@... ; SWEETCAROLINELV@... ; Lv7dove7@... ; Eagle5xV@... ; faussettdp@... ; GBKGLENN@... ; IrD@... ; jndolson@... ; jcraig@... ; Lany25@... ; LPar902210@... ; Marielee3@... ; REABEEE@... ; NEspina@... ; PEEPERLY@... ; RAve456201@... ; Gimfl@... ; Scarlett6@... ; wan6922@... ; SLIM2RB@... ; weedsworld@... ; ZO1E3Y@... ; NoMoreMcGhans@... ; myrlj@... ; G6024@... ; devans@... ; Tony Lambert 'Tiger'

Sent: Monday, August 20, 2001 12:12 AM

Subject: Mississippi Gaining as Lawsuit Mecca

Mississippi Gaining as Lawsuit Mecca By ROBERT PEAR ACKSON, Miss., Aug. 15 — If Congress makes it easier for injured patients to sue health insurance companies, lawyers here will be well prepared. In this state, especially in some of its poor rural counties, lawyers have won tens of millions of dollars in jury verdicts against large national companies, including drug manufacturers accused of selling unsafe products. Mississippi has gained a national reputation as a place where consumers fare well in court — so well that the state has become a magnet for liability lawsuits. Plaintiffs' lawyers see the state courts as a friendly forum, and defense lawyers have learned from experience that it is often better to settle personal injury cases than to take their chances before a jury. "If Aetna, Prudential and Cigna lose the battle over a patients' bill of rights, there's nothing they will fear more than having lawsuits brought against them in Mississippi," said Dr. Hugh A. Gamble II, the president of the Mississippi State Medical Association, whose members are often named as defendants. After six years of debate in Congress, where lawmakers agree that the federal government should set comprehensive standards for health insurance, the fight over patients' rights has come down to one issue: the right to sue insurers for death or injuries caused by the delay or denial of care. In Washington, the legal questions often seem technical and abstract. The situation here illustrates why those questions are important to consumers, insurers and employers. Since 1995, lawyers say, Mississippi juries have returned at least 19 verdicts of $9 million or more, including 5 that exceeded $100 million each, although plaintiffs sometimes settle for less as the appeal process proceeds. Lawyers seek clients through aggressive advertising. Malpractice insurance premiums have shot up, and some local officials say the prevalence of lawsuits makes it hard to recruit new industry. At the same time, plaintiffs' lawyers say that Mississippi is one place where poor people can hold big corporations accountable for reckless behavior that puts a higher value on profits than on health and safety. "All the elements of the national debate are crystallized here," said Beverly Pettigrew Kraft, a spokeswoman for the state court system. That debate will resume when Congress reconvenes after Labor Day, as negotiators from the House and Senate, which generally agree on the substance of patient protections, try to iron out their differences over the means of enforcing those rights. Democrats are fighting efforts by President Bush and Republicans to place limits on medical lawsuits, including the damages that plaintiffs can recover. If Mr. Bush prevails, it would be more difficult for consumers here to win multimillion-dollar verdicts against health insurers. Trent Lott, the Senate Republican leader, said: "My own state of Mississippi has become a mecca for frivolous lawsuits, with unlimited damages. They go into a particular county." Mr. Lott's brother-in-law, F. Scruggs, who made his name suing asbestos and tobacco manufacturers, is one of the most successful plaintiffs' lawyers in the state. He is leading a team filing national class- action lawsuits in federal courts attacking H.M.O.'s, which he contends coerced doctors to withhold medically necessary treatments promised to patients. Whether the many lawsuits filed in his state are frivolous, as Mr. Lott contends, is in dispute. But the Circuit Court of Jefferson County in rural southwest Mississippi — one of the poorest counties in one of the nation's poorest states — has indisputably become a popular destination for lawyers suing makers of prescription drugs, cigarettes, lead paint and asbestos products. In Congress, a major questions is whether a patient should be able to sue a health maintenance organization in state court, federal court or both. H.M.O.'s oppose any expansion of their legal liability, but if forced to choose, they prefer federal court because they believe that large jury verdicts are less likely there. Shane F. Langston, president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, which represents plaintiffs' lawyers, said: "The general public may say, `Who cares — state court, federal court, what difference does it make?' In our state, it's the difference between winning and losing. I've gotten many multimillion-dollar judgments in state court over my 17- year career, but I've never won a judgment of any significant size for plaintiffs in federal court." State judges, Mr. Langston said, are more willing to accept expert testimony and to allow disputed issues to go to a jury. In arguing for patients' rights, members of Congress often show photographs of people they say were crippled or killed by the decisions of H.M.O.'s. Insurers respond with "horror stories" of their own. In Mississippi, South Texas and parts of Los Angeles, they say, jurors redistribute wealth to plaintiffs from corporate defendants based outside the state. Jefferson, with 9,740 residents, is a small county, but litigation there is a big business. An affidavit filed in June by a researcher in one case, who combed the files of the Circuit Court, said that more than 21,000 people were plaintiffs in Jefferson County from 1995 to 2000. In one case, American Home Products paid tens of millions of dollars to people who said they had suffered heart problems after taking the diet- drug combination known as fen- phen. Users of Rezulin, a diabetes drug, are seeking tens of millions of dollars from Warner-Lambert and Pfizer, its parent company. In a case set for trial next month, 155 plaintiffs, including 117 residents of Jefferson County, have sued & because of heart problems they attribute to Propulsid, a medication for severe heartburn that has been linked to 80 deaths nationwide. To keep such cases stay in state court, plaintiffs must name at least one Mississippi resident or company as a defendant. Bankston Drug Store, the county's only pharmacy, in Fayette, is a frequent target. It's crazy," said Hilda T. Bankston, whose family owned the store from 1971 to 1999. "Our only role is that my husband filled prescriptions correctly. But we've been bombarded with lawsuits by everybody and their cousin." Although the store's owners have not been found liable, they have incurred sizable legal expenses. The mayor of Fayette, W. King, said he had mixed feelings about the litigation. "If anyone in Jefferson County has been damaged by asbestos or fen-phen, they deserve to be paid," Mr. King said. "But we don't want to be a dumping ground for lawsuits from other states. Lots of money is passing through our county, but there's not enough of it staying here."Mr. King himself is a plaintiff in one lawsuit. But he said it was difficult to recruit industry to the county because "we have an image as the lawsuit capital of the world, and nobody wants to come and invest their money for fear of being sued."Mississippi does not limit the damages that a plaintiff can recover. The federal legislation passed by the House would set limits on damages that could be assessed against an H.M.O. in federal or state court: $1.5 million for pain and suffering, plus $1.5 million in punitive damages.Mr. Langston, the president of the state trial lawyers association, said the risk of $3 million in damages would not deter "bad behavior" by H.M.O.'s. "They'll take that risk day in, day out," he said.But R. Dale, the Mississippi insurance commissioner, said some insurers had left the state, reduced their business here or increased premiums because of the legal climate. He just approved a 65 percent increase in premiums for malpractice insurance sold to doctors by the St. Companies. A company spokesman, M. Monfried, said, "Jury awards and settlements are coming in much higher than we thought they would."Mr. Dale said that some lawyers were seeking out places like Jefferson County because of the demographics."To handle these extremely complex cases," Mr. Dale said, "you need a jury educated enough to be objective. In some venues in our state, including Jefferson County, plaintiffs are prospering off the lack of education of the juries."Mayor King insisted that "the juries are fair," and added, "There are fairly intelligent people in this area."Still, many companies agree with & , which recently told the Mississippi Supreme Court that it could not obtain a fair trial in Jefferson County because "the litigation industry has saturated the community with bias." Among the plaintiffs in the Propulsid case, said & , are "many prominent and influential Jefferson County residents," including the mayor of Fayette, the father of a constable, the wife of a local judge and the sister-in-law of the circuit clerk, who helps select jurors.Lawyers find potential clients through advertisements that offer "free screenings" and consultations. A typical advertisement this month in The Fayette Chronicle appealed to Jefferson County residents who had used two popular arthritis drugs."If you or someone you know has taken Vioxx or Celebrex and suffered any serious side effects (including death, heart attack, stroke, seizure, kidney and liver damage, pregnancy complications, birth defects or high blood pressure), you may have a claim!" the advertisement said. "Contact Stamps & Stamps, attorneys at law, to discuss your legal rights."On Aug. 8, Baycol, a cholesterol- lowering drug, was voluntarily pulled from the market by its manufacturer, Bayer A. G., and the Food and Drug Administration said it had received reports of 31 deaths linked to use of the tablets. Six days later a Mississippi lawyer was running advertisements in The Clarion-Ledger, telling Baycol users that they "may have a claim" if they suffered muscle pain or organ failure."It's sort of like a gold rush," said Luke Dove, a lawyer for the Bankston Drug Store. "And my clients are the Sutter's Creek of the gold rush." All my love on the Wings of a White Dove ~ together we can Soar to heights we've never seen before, Spread your wings open wide, and we will glide in God's Blue Sky* What beauty awaits us, come hold my hand while we see things only Angels wings can lift us up to..I love each of you, Let your wings lift you above into the blue sky ~ fly! Tony 'Tiger' Lambert you are in our prayers, so is Mich., Jo, Pat, Lilly, Sam, , Dave, , Sami Beck, ilena, Pat, Lilly, Mattie, Sue Kreger, Boone, KKJ, Caroline,Glenda, again, Joyce, Dan, Lynds, an all of you who are my friends who lift me up to the light* God bless you ~ Peace, truth, and research now, gigi Mississippi Gaining as Lawsuit Mecca http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/20/politics/20PATI.html http://www.kissedbyanangel.com/pillowangels/