Is justice a dream or can it be our vision?

Democrats vs. Republicans, trial attorneys vs. physicians . . . they are like the fighting couples I see in my office, caught in the power struggle, so caught up in being right and pointing fingers, that they lose what they both most want. The Power Struggle becomes more important than the relationship, than their vision of what is possible. Actually, most of them were never clear about their dreams or discounted their own or their partner’s, which also fueled more of the conflict. Perhaps that’s what has happened between the players in healthcare, and the politicians who play the games of being right by making the other wrong.

What has happened to the dreams, to their vision of what is possible?

Today I discovered a proposed bill (HB 733) in the Florida House of Representatives trying to get around the abolishment of joint & several liability that the legislature voted on last year. The bill seeks to make the named party in the lawsuit responsible for all the damages, even if they were only minimally responsible. (See more on my Legislation page) It’s a great way to go after the most solvent, the deepest pockets and to justify once again the shotgun approach to malpractice claims – naming every possible person in the hopes someone can be found guilty of some responsibility and forced to bear the burden of all the expense. So in the name of justice, we make an unjust law??? It’s like a game to see who will win, no matter who you damage in the process.

It is easy for me to think of trial attorneys as greedy exploiters of misfortune, and some are – as are some doctors, therapists, insurance companies, politicians and even some patients or family members. But I also can’t help but imagine that there are actually some trial attorneys motivated by a sense of justice and fairness, and some who are ethical and some who hold a vision of a more just world.

As I was researching the Florida bill, I found that the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers has changed its name to the Florida Justice Association, as has the national association (now the American Association for Justice). Wouldn’t it really get interesting if it were all actually about justice?. . .If we looked for ways to be just to both injured patients and physicians who provide care, yet as human beings are not perfect every minute of every working day? Clearly there are some unethical and incompetent doctors. But so many named in malpractice claims are not that. So much energy, time, money, resource is wasted in attacks and counter-attacks, going back and trying to undo the opponents win. And we all end up losing.

What if we all, lawyers, physicians, patients, Democrats, Republicans, insurance industry and others sought justice for all, instead of protection of profit or power or position, or reward for the few? What if we put our combined vision, intelligence, creativity and the best part of our desire for a better world at the service of creating a better way?