Medical Liablity lawsuit limits

CNN.com - Bush pushes for lawsuit limits - Jan 5, 2005

I don't know exactly how I feel about this issue. On one hand, the lawsuits drive up malpractice insurance. This drives up everyone’s medical bills. I know every year the cost of my medical insurance goes up as does the amount of the co-pay I have to pay. If my medical rates are getting high, and I have decent benefits, those who are paying 100% of their own insurance must be paying ridiculously high prices. Many can't afford to pay and therefore don't have ANY medical insurance. At the same time, those high malpractice insurance rates are slowly going to run the small doctors out of business because only the large hospitals will be able to afford them.
On the other hand, if I were to go in for surgery and the doctor amputated something he wasn't supposed to I think there is definitely some seriously justified compensation coming.
I think it all comes down to the need to stop FRIVOLOUS lawsuits. This isn't just in the medical arena, but everywhere. While the low lifes that are trying to get rich from suing people are definitely to blame, the courts are just as much to blame. When someone sues because they spilled coffee on themselves while driving down the road and it was *HOT* and WINS, the courts are just asking for more. (Personally, I think a lawsuit for the coffee being cold and crappy would be more reasonable :) )
Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop frivolous lawsuits? Or are payout limits the answer? Whatever the answer is, SOMETHING needs to change.