Category: Legal Reform

Doctors, Not Lawyers, Should Treat Mental Illness

National Policy Analysis #464 /
When the nation's top psychiatrists gather May 17-22 in San Francisco for the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, they will be struggling with a vexing dilemma. They will also be closely watched by personal injury lawyers. At issue: ...
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A Federal Asbestos Trust Fund: Better for Victims, Better for the Economy

National Policy Analysis #463 /
Amid the happiness and perhaps relief within the White House that the war in Iraq has been so successful is this unsettling fact: President Bush is reenacting the political scenario that doomed his father's 1992 reelection bid. The senior President ...
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The Medical Liability Crisis Affects Us All, by Edmund F. Haislmaier

National Policy Analysis #454 /
January saw an outbreak of an unfamiliar phenomenon in the U.S. - strikes by doctors. While such strikes are commonplace in countries with nationalized health systems, in the U.S. they have been relatively rare. But unlike their foreign counterparts, U.S ...
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Asbestos Litigation: It Costs as Much as War

National Policy Analysis #447 /
Asbestos, the talc-like mineral once used in everything from fire retardant wallboard to automotive brake linings, is much in the news because of a blizzard of class-action lawsuits against what sometimes seems to be every American who runs a business ...
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Lawyers in Your Medicine Cabinet May Keep Needed Drugs Out, by Edmund F. Haislmaier

National Policy Analysis #450 /
A disturbing aspect of the growing litigation crisis is its potential for harming the health of Americans. This threat comes in part from class action lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies over prescription drug side effects. At first glance, this may seem ...
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In Case of the Diluting Druggist, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

New Visions Commentary /
Imagine this cinematic scenario: Superman, America's most famous superhero, saves a helpless baby in a perilous situation. Flying in at the last moment, our hero swoops up the helpless, adorable baby and places him safely in his anxious mother's arms ...
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Government “Scrooge” Ruining Breast Cancer Victim’s Christmas, by Christopher Burger

National Policy Analysis #444 /
The Ebenezer Scrooge of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol was a wealthy, mean-spirited man who lacked Christmas cheer. He was so consumed with his business that he failed to understand the importance of spreading good cheer and compassion. As every ...
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Trial Lawyers and Fear-Mongering Put Real Victims At Risk in Asbestos Cases, by Kevin Martin

New Visions Commentary /
Today's burning question: You discover you are inhaling between 10,000 and 15,000 fibers of asbestos per day. Should you: a) head for the nearest emergency room, b) call your physician and schedule a checkup, 3) purchase a gas mask to ...
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In Case of the Diluting Druggist, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

National Policy Analysis #437 /
Imagine this cinematic scenario: Superman, America's most famous superhero, saves a helpless baby in a perilous situation. Flying in at the last moment, our hero swoops up the helpless, adorable baby and places him safely in his anxious mother's arms ...
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Profiting From the Work of Others: Why Weakening Prescription Drug Patent Protection is Bad Public Policy, by Eric Peters

National Policy Analysis #438 /
A cornerstone of the free market -- and the individual initiative that keeps it running -- is the idea that any new invention or product will be protected by law against copycats who didn't do the work or invent anything, ...
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The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.