Personal injury laws are under attack, says report
A WIDE-RANGING survey has concluded that there are significant problems with personal injury laws and the US jury system.
Legal Prudence and the American Jury identified the spread of plaintiff-unfriendly legal practices as one of the major problems facing the civil justice system. It said that major corporations, along with other pro-business proponents of tort reform legislation, have systematically engaged in a deliberate and persistent campaign against plaintiffs, their personal injury lawyers, and consumer protection laws.
NAPIL.com, which carried out the survey, said that in an effort to limit consumer protection, tort reform advocates have argued that American corporations are beset by immoral, unscrupulous trial lawyers who file unmeritorious lawsuits, including those for personal injury and rely on unethical tactics for the purposes of obtaining large, unjustified verdicts.
It has resulted in a severe bias among potential jurors who routinely blame plaintiffs for increased insurance costs, and either rule against plaintiffs or award insufficient damages for personal injury, said NAPIL.com.
The ultimate risk is that such rhetoric could lead to arcane legislation such as the MICRA laws, which burden only plaintiffs who have suffered the most horrific personal injuries, restricting their non-economic damages to no more than $250,000.