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TORT “REFORM” HYPOCRISY ISN’T NEW, IS IT, RICK SANTORUM?
Here’s a look back in time to 2000. It’s such a sweet memory, I just had to pass it along.
Subject: Santorum followup
Dave “Doctor” Gonzo’s
Off the Radar January 13, 2000 — NEW YORK (AmpolNS) — It’s time again to look at a few stories that somehow slipped under the media radar.
DATELINE: Fairfax County, Pa. — Late last week, Fairfax Circuit Judge Arthur Vieregg set aside the $350,000 in damages that Karen Santorum, wife of Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, was awarded in a chiropractic malpractice suit last month, deeming the amount excessive and stating that he felt the jury had shown “undo passion [and] sympathy” in awarding the Mrs. Santorum $350,000 for her back injuries allegedly resulting from negligence by her chiropractor, Dr. David Dolberg. Vieregg said that he believed the jury’s award — the result of a determination that chiropractic manipulation by Dolberg caused Mrs. Santorum to suffer a herniated disc that required surgery — was excessively punitive and the result of Mrs. Santorum’s attorney placing too much emphasis on what she characterized as Dolberg’s inadequate record-keeping. Mrs. Santorum was originally seeking $500,000 to compensate her for her injuries; total medical costs related to her back injury totaled approximately $18,800, and she was seeking compensation for pain, suffering, and anticipated future medical costs.
Vieregg gave Mrs. Santorum the choice of a reduced award of $175,000 or a new trial. And it turns out that Vieregg wasn’t the only one questioning the damages awarded in the case: critics of Senator Santorum questioned the $350,000 judgment in light of Santorum’s own position on tort reform, notably his sponsorship of bills to cap noneconomic damages and attorney’s fees and to require claimants to first seek resolution through a mediator before filing suit. Aides to Santorum sniffed at the criticism, saying Rick and Karen “simply disagree.”
Hey, Rick, you’re a Republican! What kind of a GOP family man are you if you can’t get the little lady to “walk the talk?”
‘Nuff said.