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Study
favors corporations over consumers
Sunday, April 08, 2007
RALPH COOK
Isuppose it was in the spirit of April Fool's Day that a "study" was
released claiming civil justice attorneys
and personal injury cases cost the United States $865 billion a year, via a so-called "tort
tax." There is no
such thing as a "tort tax," and the "facts and figures" contained
in the "study" are outrageous, misleading
and downright false. Consumers take heed: It may be April, but don't be fooled
by the "study's" claims.
The truth is, civil justice attorneys are America's guardians of justice, helping
ordinary citizens without fame,
money or power stand against big and powerful corporations. This makes society
safer for everyone. For
instance, consider the following:
Because of civil justice attorneys, our children sleep and play in greater safety,
free from the threat of burns
(or worse) from pajamas catching fire. Their toys and clothes are now safer and
flame retardant. In addition,
lead has been removed from paint forever, and just the other day, millions of
key chains and "Groovy
Grabber" children's bracelets containing high amounts of lead were recalled.
Clearly, there is still work to be
done
Because of civil
justice attorneys, our family cars are safer. Airbags, seat
belts and safer gas tank
placement save lives every day. Were it not for the work of
civil justice attorneys, the sale of dangerous
vehicles still would be allowed.
Prescriptions and over-the-counter medications are safer because
of civil justice attorneys. By forcing big
drug companies to be accountable for dangerous products, these
goods have been kept off the shelves and
out of our homes.
Because of civil justice attorneys, fairness in the workplace
has improved. Thanks to them, corporations
can no longer discriminate on the basis of color, race, religion,
sex or age. This alone has helped millions of
Americans get the salaries and job levels for which they are
qualified.
Pacific Research Institute, the entity that released the "study,"
is a think tank bankrolled by big corporations
and the oil and insurance industries. It spends its time constructing
phony reports, books and studies in an
effort to erode the civil justice system. And who can blame
it? Chipping away at the system that holds the
"institute's" parent companies accountable for their
negligence is in the group's best interest and might soon
become its mission statement.
The "study" contains fuzzy math, unsubstantiated
conclusions and numbers pulled out of thin air. The "tort
tax" is a fabricated figure meant to scare American citizens
into believing they are personally paying for
lawsuits out of their pockets. The corporations found to be
responsible for negligent products and practices
have no desire to pay money to the people their goods or policies
have harmed because doing so would
affect their bottom line.
Those corporations want to diminish their damages or shift
the harm they cause to the injured and/or to the
public through Social Security and other public- assistance
programs. To that end, they will employ every
means, including releasing misleading information about a
tax that doesn't exist.
We should scrutinize closely any claims that suggest when
citizens seek adequate, fair and reasonable
compensation for injuries and damages sustained, the result
is a so-called "tort tax." If wrongdoers are not
held accountable for injuries and damages they inflict, you
and I will become responsible, in the form of a
real tax - public-assistance programs - and the wrongdoer,
essentially, will get a tax subsidy.
Organizations like PRI are helping their parent corporations
get filthy rich by hacking away at the American
civil justice system. If consumers who purchase the corporations'
goods do not have the right to hold them
accountable for defective and unsafe products or practices,
there would be no check or balance on the
corporations.
Regulatory laws, civil justice attorneys and the American
civil justice system place people above profits and
without those laws, big corporations would have nothing to
restrain them. Many of us bear witness to this
lack of restraint in the form of incredibly high fuel prices
and denied insurance claims to honest,
hardworking individuals who pay sky-high rates for premiums.
Look for more unfounded "studies" from PRI and others
in the future that are just as ridiculous as the phony
"tort tax." Rumor has it that spokespeople being
considered for future "studies" are the Easter Bunny,
the
Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. Unlike the "tort tax,"
at least their existence would add a little credibility to
the
"institute's" claims. Ralph Cook, president of the
Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, is a former justice on
the Alabama Supreme Court. E-mail: Ralph@hwnn.com.
© 2007 The Birmingham News
© 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved |
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