FIRST GUEST COLUMNIST

Today, Attorneybutler.net is proud to post its first guest column.

Attorney Linda Turek, a great lawyer, advocate, and guardian of civil justice, has given me permission to run a letter she sent in to the Detroit Free Press (but which they failed to print), in support of Bob Raitt's Sept. 7 Comment piece. Here it is:

I am a registered nurse and an attorney that specializes in medical
malpractice law.

Michigan's 'Tort Reform' has only served to punish
the injured patients and their families. Unlike any other area of state law, malpractice victims must provide a 182 day warning (Notice of Intent) to the wrongdoers //prior to filing the claim in court //and
also, must attach healthcare professionals' sworn statements(Affidavits
of Merit) to the lawsuit, certifying the merit of the claim. These
requirements were created when Engler and his band of sadly mistaken
bozos realized that the insurance industry would keep them in (any)
office in perpetuity. They and their 'heirs' continue to misrepresent
to the public that 'tort reform' stops frivolous lawsuits. What 'tort
reform' has really done is slowly but surely closed the courtroom doors
to those that have been harmed, while steadily increasing the insurance
premiums paid by healthcare providers.

Adding insult to injury, Black Robe Fever, apparently contracted by Cliff Taylor included in our dominating Supreme Court's 'majority of four', regularly distorts and maims current law in an effort to further
expand the so-called 'tort reform'.

Make no mistake: tort reformers are protecting
the mega-profiteering insurance companies, not the doctors and other
healthcare professionals that pay those whopping premiums.

Linda can be reached at lturek@sachswaldman.com