Kansas Officials Work to Ensure No ‘Medical Liability Crisis’

Attorney General Phill Kline and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger are reportedly seeking to prevent a John Edwards-inspired “medical liability crisis” in Kansas.

Former North Carolina Senator and Democrat vice presidential candidate John Edwards was reportedly peddling his recipe to create a medical crisis in Kansas when he visited Topeka over the weekend. It’s the same recipe that he employed in his home state that has reportedly wreaked havoc and pushed North Carolina into facing a medical liability crisis.

“The American Medical Association says that North Carolina is in a full-blown ‘medical liability crisis’ and warns that Kansas is already ‘showing problem signs’ of an impending crisis,” Kline said. “Kansas does not need the kind of crisis-prone policies advocated by Edwards as one of North Carolina’s most notorious personal injury lawyers.”

A recent Kansas Chamber of Commerce poll of the state’s business owners and executives indicated that 72% of business leaders strongly believe that frivolous lawsuits drives up their costs of doing business. “Chamber members identified the rising costs of health care as their top concern,” KCC President and CEO Lew Ebert said. “

“Medical malpractice promotes higher utilization of health care services when doctors feel the need to order medical tests just to protect themselves from lawsuits,” Praeger said. “This form of defensive medicine drives up health care costs unnecessarily.”

“The improved legal climate Attorney General Kline is working toward will foster a much better environment for job growth across Kansas,” Ebert said. The Chamber’s poll also shows that 67% of voters are most likely to support a candidate for the legislature who supports meaningful lawsuit reform.

Kline added, “The Kansas Chamber and other business organizations are working hard to improve the business climate in Kansas by advocating reforms to our legal system, and I applaud their efforts.”