How Texas Tackled Tort Reform: Taking on Trial Lawyers, Inc.
The U.S. tort system costs over $200 billion—more than 2% of GDP—of which the trial lawyers take in $40 billion per year in revenues. That’s 50% more than Microsoft or Intel and twice again as much as Coca-Cola.
Standing up against the force of Trial Lawyers, Inc., Texas Governor Rick Perry helped issue in sweeping state-level tort reforms during the most recent legislative session. The bill Governor Perry signed into law made changes to Texas law in the areas of class actions, medical malpractice, and product liability, as well as many procedural changes. He also supported a successful ballot referendum that allowed the Texas legislature to cap non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases.
Sworn in as Texas’ 47th governor on December 21, 2000, Governor Perry was elected to a four-year term on November 5, 2002. In addition to his groundbreaking efforts on tort reform, he has championed educational opportunity and health care while maintaining a solid, fiscally conservative record. His talk promises to be exciting, and we hope you will be able to attend.
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