The District Courts of Utah have come out with their FY2006 Caseload Statistics.  www.utcourts.gov/stats/2006/district/fy2006_9.htm There were 64,074 civil case filings in 2006.  Of those filings, 2,493 were classified as Tort filings (mostly personal injury).  There were 230 malpractice cases filed during 2006 in Utah.  That's right, 230.  Ask any nurse or other health care professional how many instances of negligence they believe occurred in health care in Utah last year.  If they are honest and informed, it will be far more than 230.  Most studies of medical error point to huge numbers and support the proposition that the vast majority of malpractice is never known to the victim and never results in a lawsuit.  For the small minority that do know what happened and take action, they face an uphill battle against damage caps (approximately $460,000 in Utah for non-economic, pain and suffering damages in Utah); forced arbitration agreements; and wealthy insurers.  The next time the insurance industry and their minions try to tell you there is a "malpractice crisis" or that we need "tort reform" don't believe them.  The facts simply do not support this. 

There are problems with health care in this country.  I do not claim to have all the answers, but I am confident that taking away malpractice victims' Constitutional right to a jury trial and fair compensation will not solve anything.  It will simply shift the burden of medical mistakes to the innocent victims, while doing nothing to address the larger underlying economic problems.