ThePopTort

In the News

We told you last March why some 9/11 victims felt morally obligated to file lawsuits and forgo the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.  Now it’s being reported that the first 9/11 wrongful death suit will go to trial in Manhattan on April 12.

Last year, the FDA settled a lawsuit with “anti-mercury activists” by agreeing to post a precaution on its website acknowledging the potential dangers posed by mercury dental fillings.  But “in something of an about-face” the agency is now revising that position…

A federal whistleblower lawsuit against a Tulare County hospital and health-care system has been settled amidst allegations that they gave “doctors who referred Medicare patients to the health care system a break on their rent and the cost of commercial real estate, as well as forgiving their debts.”

A judge has decided that Indiana will have to pay some 15,000 current and former state employees $42 million to compensate them for 20 years of unpaid work.

An Op-Ed in today’s New York Times by former NTSB chairman Jim Hill, underscores what we’ve been saying about the real problem with medical malpractice being the amount of medical malpractice itself.  “The Obama administration should take a lesson from the transportation safety board’s successes and establish an independent agency charged with identifying and eliminating the causes of medical error,” writes Hill.  “Such a move would save money by saving lives and would ensure that our nation’s health care system is equipped to provide the safest medical care possible.”

Supreme Court Upholds Total Immunity for the Gun Manufacturing Industry

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the City of New York’s final appeal in their case against gun manufacturers who sell their guns in ways that allow their product to end up in the hands of criminals.  This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise since the City lost its petition in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after Congress passed legislation in 2005, effectively immunizing gun manufacturers from lawsuits.

Cities have never been ultimately successful in their cases against gun manufacturers, leaving gun manufacturers unaccountable for providing guns to dealers who in turn sell them in ways that allows the guns to end up in the hands of criminals.  Yet at the same time the gun industry loves our legal system – when it serves its own purpose.  This past summer, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Washington DC’s handgun ban, gun advocates backed by the NRA immediately began filing lawsuits to get other laws regulating guns overturned.

Georgia Flirts With Michigan's Big Mistake

Although a lot of politicians have economic stimulus on the brain right now, jump-starting our stalled economy shouldn't come at the expense of consumers' rights.  Which would be exactly what Georgia would be doing to its citizens should a recent piece of legislation get passed. 
 
Senate Bill 101 introduced last week and endorsed by Governor Sonny Purdue would "limit liability for certain drug and medical device manufacturers and sellers."  Which is merely a nice way of saying that a company that markets an unsafe drug or device should be given complete immunity for causing deaths or injuries, as long as the FDA approved the product.  This law supposes that the FDA is both capable and willing to ensure the safety of all products it regulates – which many including those within the FDA itself doubt.  Ah, peanuts anyone?

Regardless we have seen time and time again  how lawsuits have dissuaded companies from continuing to market an unsafe product.  And lawsuits have also had a tremendously beneficial role spurring medical research and alerting the public – and ultimately pressuring regulators – to act on larger health risks and problems.

Unlike what its supporters assume, this legislation would do nothing to create biotechnology jobs in the state.  Michigan, the only state in the nation that has such immunity for its pharmaceutical industry have seen thousands of these high-paying jobs leave their state since Governor Engler signed the bill into law in 1995.  (See the CJ&D report A Tragic Blunder: Michigan's Drug Industry Immunity Law to learn more about Michigan's unprecedented law that prevents its residents harmed by dangerous drugs from gaining access to the civil justice system.)

Thankfully there are groups like Georgia Watch an organization dedicated to improving consumer protections for Georgia families who are staying on top of this issue.  Georgia Watch Executive Director Allison Wall said of the legislation,

"Essentially, this is a desperate bid for new biotech business at the expense of our legal rights," said Wall. "That's a dangerous gamble for the Governor, risking the health and safety of Georgians against the interests of corporations."

A Few Thoughts on Product Safety

This is a terrific New York Times editorial from the other day

August 5, 2008
The President and Product Safety

American consumers, who have suffered years of neglect from government agencies created for their protection, could soon be in for some genuine help. Congress last week overwhelmingly passed the first important reform in 30 years of the creaky Consumer Product Safety Commission. Aides to President Bush have said that he plans to sign the bill into law.

That would be good news, and even better news if he signs it quickly. Consumers have a right to be protected from such hazardous goods, and businesses stand to gain as well. Consumer confidence in product safety desperately needs some help, especially as the nation moves toward what could be a lean holiday season.

Anyone who follows the news knows why this law is needed. Last year alone, nearly 30 million potentially hazardous toys were pulled from the nation's shelves. Many items were covered in lead paint. Others had tiny magnets that could injure a child's delicate stomach. (Read more)

On the other hand, the so-called "tort reform" groups continue to demonstrate how fundamentally out of touch they are with the American public by continuing to attack this legislation, which passed both houses of Congress virtually unanimously.   

See here

Congress Says - Get The Lead Out!

We've been blogging about the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which came out of a House/Senate conference and passed the House 424 to 1.  It should pass the Senate soon, perhaps even today!

Here's the news release from consumer groups praising the bill, which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan Institute and other out-of-touch right-wing corporate groups have, incredibly, attacked.

Among the great things about this bill is the ban on lead in toys. Back in May, victims of lead contaminated toys went to Washington D.C. to urge Congress to protect children from lead paint in toys.

The legislation gives the parents just about everything they asked for.

Enviromentalists Say: "EPA Should Make Sure National Parks Have Clean Air!"

Big Oil may have gotten more of a love tap than a slap on the wrist yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court, but we are still optimistic that the civil justice system is still a vital way to protect the environment.

Yesterday, several environmental organizations gave notice to the Environmental Protection Agency that it would file a lawsuit by the end of the summer if the agency does not "compel states to clean up the haze plaguing the nation's parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas." This may seem familiar as this spring, the same groups brought a lawsuit against the EPA in attempts to overturn its wimpy smog regulations.

In the News...

Yesterday, in Louisiana the House of Representatives watered down then killed a piece of bad medical malpractice legislation that would have allowed nursing homes to escape accountability in cases of negligence by hiding behind the state's cumbersome medical malpractice laws.

Take it to the voters.  In Colorado, a slew of new ballot initiatives have been filed with the state.  One initiative would revoke a doctor's license after having been found to have engaged in three or more incidents of medical malpractice. Another would significantly raise the cap on damages for defective construction.

Oklahoma keeps its civil justice system intact.  Last week, the lawmaker that proposed legislation that would have significantly weakened their civil justice system pulled the bill fearing a veto from the governor.

Kicking and screaming the National Association of Manufacturers begrudgingly agreed last week to abide by the law and disclose the lobbying activity of its members.

Corps Go Digging for Trash

Isn’t it enough that tiny public interest groups like ours struggle for funding, lack sufficient staff given our workload, and generally have to spend our days fighting corporate villains (and their flackies like John Stossel) that set legislative and political agendas, devise stealth strategies to hurt consumers and purchase expensive media to persuade public officials that there’s something wrong with, well, those of us trying to protect the public?

If this unbelievable exclusive from Mother Jones doesn’t convince you that these corporate special interests have way too much time and money on their hands, I don’t know what will.

Seems like a bunch of environmental groups have been the focus of a major covert cloak and dagger effort by companies that hired former spies and secret service agents to disrupt the work of these groups by going through these groups’ trash, infiltrating them, staking out the homes of their executives, etc. etc. “Scary” sounding groups like "Green Peace", "Friends of the Earth", "U.S. Public Interest Research Group", "The Center for Food Safety" and "The Center for Health, Environment & Justice"– lots of groups with whom we work, were the targets. One mission, for example, was to go after groups that had the audacity to oppose genetically engineered food not approved for human consumption.

MoJo's piece centers on the company, Beckett Brown International (BBI) later renamed S2i (seriously that has got to be straight out of a movie). Basically, S2i was a hired gun for big corps brought on to make the lives of certain environmental groups and their staff pretty difficult. They called their missions "protective services" and "crisis management." Not as cool as it sounds considering that a lot of their mission was staking out trash receptacles.

If anyone’s thinking of coming after ThePopTort.com, just remember that we have security cameras EVERYWHERE! (Thought you should know.)

Trade Group Sues to End Honest Leadership and Open Government

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, which Congress passed last year to reign in some lobbying and ethics problems, is about as controversial as cup cakes or the tooth fairy.  Except if you're the National Association of Manufactures (NAM), one of the countries' biggest corporate lobby groups.

Apparently, NAM thinks this law just isn't for them.  It cramps their style so much that they don't just oppose the law. They have filed a lawsuit against it – to actually invalidate the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act.

And what's more:  you won't find a lobby group in America more dedicated to demolishing the legal rights of injured people.  This all recently came up during the battle over the ill-fated nomination of NAM's lobbyist Michael Baroody, to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So in the universe where NAM lives, a family shouldn't have the right to sue the manufacturers of a defectively designed crib.  But take away their right to cover up their membership as they wine and dine politicians, and they're knocking down the courthouse door!

There ATRA Goes Again

What could have the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) quaking in their boots more than a judicial "hellhole"?  Civil justice preserved, an independent judiciary, what could it possibly be? 

How about a new t.v. show on ABC.  The show is called "Eli Stone" and its about a corporate attorney  who begins having visions of 80's pop sensation George Michael.  From these visions, the lead character has a revelation that his new purpose in life is to help ordinary people.  Thus, he begins a quest to assist regular folks by taking on the powerful corps he once defended. 

Here is an excerpt from the Baltimore Sun's blog about ATRA's concern over the show:

This does not sit well with the American Tort Reform Association.  It, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, is complaining that a plot line in the show - Stone represents a mother who believes a vaccine caused her child to become autistic - is misleading. In a statement, yesterday, the association's president, Sherman "Tiger" Joyce, said the show has the "potential to scare millions of parents away from having their children properly vaccinated against dangerous diseases."

Check out the entire article here.

Seriously ATRA?