Even the biggest fans of capitalism do not believe that maximizing shareholder value is something that excuses all consideration of harm to customers, and healthcare is one of the few industries where customers experiencing harm is ubiquitous. Perhaps no other industry is as likely to affect every American individual directly and horrifically. Not weapons manufacturers, not companies that wreck the environment, not predatory lenders.

So, the real story isn't: "Old lady spills coffee and gets millions." It's "McDonald's ignores hundreds of dangerous incidents for years, then maims a customer for life and refuses to pay her medical bills or change its practices to avoid future incidents. A judge says she's due a fraction of the jury award, but she doesn't get it because McDonald's uses its massive litigation war-chest to force her into a confidential settlement."

The "bloodsucking lawyers preying on innocent corporations" story is a creation of the business lobby, which has, for decades, argued that it should be immune to legal consequences when it harms or kills the public. The cause of "tort reform" is, in actuality, a corporate charter of impunity.