Mission Accomplished: Texas tort reform 'devastates' ambulance chasers

Here is a recent story, in its entirety, by Trey Garrison of Dallas Blog:

This month's American Bar Association Journal has an interesting if somewhat long read on the effect Texas' 2003 tort reform has had on law firms. Written by lawyers, for lawyers, naturally it's ridiculously biased. In fact the only reason I was so compelled while reading it is I have a secret streak of schadenfreude when it comes to personal injury lawyers.

When Ken Molberg, a Dallas lawyer and occasional contributor to Dallas Blog himself, offered an opposing view, Trey Garrison dismissed it as "class envy trial lawyer propaganda". That's the rebuttal. No facts. No logic. Just "class envy trial lawyer propaganda."

When I suggested readers take another look at how so-called tort reform has left Texas a place where there is no recourse for wrongdoing and where the powerful simply get their way, by reading the November, 2005, article in Texas Monthly "Hurt? Injured? Need a Lawyer? Too Bad!", Trey Garrison dismissed me by calling me "Edna" instead of "Ed". That's the rebuttal. "Edna". ;-)

Mr Garrison demonstrates that he has nothing to contribute to the subject. Antipathy towards lawyers and cliched opinion substitute for fact. Childish name-calling is offered as witty rebuttal. When even that fails him, he resorts to the tool of bullies, censorship.

I tried to steer the thread back to the fact that real people, average Texans, are victims of malpractice, negligence and fraud, and are being denied access to the courts because of so-called tort reform. And the fact that the Texas Monthly article documents real examples. My reply simply disappeared from the Web site, without even so much as "Edna, you ignorant slut!"

The Texas Monthly reporter interviews average Texans and documents their plight. Yet all Mr Garrison sees are "scare stories and whines about poor, unprotected hypothetical victims. And more trial lawyer propaganda." Maybe it's all hypothetical to Mr Garrison because he's sitting at a computer wearing blinders instead of going out in the field like a real reporter, interviewing real people.

And make no mistake about the blinders. Mr Garrison admits as much in his reply to Mr Molberg, encouraging Mr Molberg to write his own column. Mr Garrison says the column would be "not one I agree with, mind you." He knows he won't agree even before reading the column, even before the column is even written. It's the hallmark of a closed mind, the type you often encounter in Internet forums. In this case, the closed-mind belongs to the Dallas Blog itself, not readers.

Forget the lawyers. Forget the insurance companies. Forget the man suing McDonald's for finding a rat in his salad. Forget what passes for journalism at Dallas Blog. Consider average Texans. The bottom line? So-called tort reform has been a bad deal for average Texans.