"Just like the D.C. judge who sued a dry cleaner for millions of dollars. "
..and LOST! Looked like a FOOL doing it, didn't he? One can always find ridiculous examples, but they aren't representative. They make good yellow journalism though, for Fox News.
For every ONE instance of abuse, you can find 100 where the plaintiffs were horribly wronged by a corporation, insurance company or the medical profession - of course, they don't MAKE the news in the corporate-controlled, bought and paid for media.
brennanlaw.com
"TORT REFORM": THE REAL DEFINITION.
Let's keep this article short.
"Tort reform" is being called for these days by mostly right-wing politicians and political commentators.
These politicians and political commentators claim that "tort reform" is the solution for "frivolous lawsuits."
This claim is false.
"Tort reform" is, and always has been, designed to eliminate, or reduce the potential recovery in, righteous and valid lawsuits. In spite of what the insurance industry issues as its press releases about "frivolous lawsuits," the fact remains that the insurance industry wants to eliminate righteous and valid lawsuits. That is the sole purpose of tort reform.
It is doubtful that "tort reform" will eliminate "frivolous lawsuits." It is certain that "tort reform" will eliminate righteous and valid lawsuits. That is the sole purpose of tort reform.
Next time you hear about a "frivolous lawsuit" in the news, please remember that a press agent for a major insurance company worked long hours to have the news carry that story, to suggest to you that most lawsuits are frivolous.
In fact, very few lawsuits are frivolous, but the insurance industry makes sure to publicize the ones that are frivolous.
The fact is, most lawsuits are valid and legitimate. There are frivolous lawsuits, but the vast majority of these are dismissed by judges long before they come up for trial.
Also, you may not know, but most frivolous lawsuits are filed by…you guessed it: INSURANCE COMPANIES! Insurance companies will file just about anything to recover money they have paid out in a claim. Insurance companies will chase the poorest, most innocent consumers to recover money that often is not owed. "Tort reform" legislation almost always prohibits individual consumers from filing lawsuits, but almost always makes an exception for corporations, because corporations feel they need to harass innocent consumers to collect money these corporations quite frequently are not owed.
So remember, next time you hear about "tort reform," keep in mind that if you are ever run over by a truck driven by a drunk driver, if some member of your family loses a limb because a doctor makes a bonehead mistake about which limb needs surgery, if you buy a clearly defective vehicle which stalls out on you at freeway speeds, if debt collectors make your life a living hell by calling you day and night to collect debts you do not owe, if someone steals your identity and the major credit bureaus ignore you even though your life is torn apart…if any of these or a thousand other horrendous things happen to you, TORT REFORM WILL PROHIBIT YOU FROM OBTAINING JUSTICE! PERIOD.
You want to keep alive your ability to seek justice when these types of things happen to you? Then VOTE AGAINST TORT REFORM, TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TO VOTE AGAINST TORT REFORM, AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR FAMILY THAT JUDGES ALREADY GET RID OF MOST OF THE FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS AND SHOULD BE TRUSTED TO DETERMINE WHICH LAWSUITS ARE FRIVOLOUS AND WHICH ONES HAVE MERIT. Justice is simply too important to leave to greedy insurance companies who make every effort to buy legislatures and sway public opinion with false and sensationalized stories. |
