Opinion
U.S. acceptance of contingency fees is a key cause of nation's tort problems
LETTER — Posted Nov. 14, 2005
It was surprising that the word "contingency" never appeared in your article on tort reform options (Article, Oct. 10).
Our legal system differs from the rest of the entire civilized world in that we have the contingency system of civil justice, which encourages litigation as the trial attorneys search for their pot of gold.
There is no penalty for bringing baseless cases to court. The legal systems of the other countries should have been better profiled explaining how their citizens gain access to the courthouse while not extorting the lifeblood out of their society.
Fred Teichman, MD, Lewisburg, Pa.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/11/14/edlt1114.htm.