Okie judges on med mal suits..

Amazingly, the Oklahoma state supreme court has struck down a piece of tort reform legislation requiring med mal plaintiffs to submit an expert affidavit before filing a case. I'd never have pegged the Okies to make such a bold move, but the judges were pretty much in agreement when 8 of the 9 justices found that the law created an unconstitutional financial barrier to the courts because of the high cost of retaining an expert, and that it discriminates against plaintiffs in medical negligence cases by requiring a different standard than for those in other cases.

I love it when courts in places like Utah, as in the State Farm decision, surprise people by sticking up for the little guy. I suspect that in this case, though, no good deed will go unpunished. As one blogger notes, though, expect to see the Oklahoma legislature pass a new bill requiring the expensive affidavits in all negligence cases..

Comments

[Eric]

The Oklahoma Supreme Court decision is now available online in its "unofficial" form (subject to correction)...and some very interesting comments in there....link and commentary at my blog:

--Eric
New York Personal Injury Law Blog