Lawsuit Abuse & Statistics

Since the early 1990's the filing of what has been described as frivolous lawsuits has created a national forum. Known also as junk suits or lawsuit abuse by critics, the attention has lead to the Tort Reform Movement . Tort reform advocates seek to draft a lawsuit abuse reduction act that would limit the types of cases or litigation, punitive damages awarded to plaintiffs, the culpability of defendants, and limitation of certain types of motions.

The tort reform movement emerged from the wake of successful lawsuit filings against Big Tobacco and the big settlements awarded to the plaintiffs. Grassroots groups known as C.A.L.A., Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, began to form nationwide. These groups advocated an end to lawsuit abuse by citing a huge problem growing out of control and the harm inflicted on American small-business owners, taxpayers, consumers, retirees and working families.

These non-profit watchdog groups enumerated lawsuit abuse statistics and anecdotal evidence to suggest an epidemic of lawsuit abuse. Alleged incidents of lawsuit abuse cite cases like a convicted bank burglar suing a bank after being injured by a tear-gas releasing anti-robbery device, a person suing a snack food company after falling from a tree after consuming the company's snack food, and an instance where a woman brought suit against a hairstylist following a bad haircut.

Lawsuit abuse statistics, chiefly the cost of lawsuits passed on to consumers, are the concerns of groups like Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. The costs of lawsuit abuse tacked on to products and services are known to the proponents of tort reform as the hidden lawsuit tax. The lawsuit tax is added on to consumer goods that include everything from ladders to football helmets,. The lawsuit tax is blamed for the rise in health care costs from devices such as pacemakers and motorized wheelchairs and procedures from tonsillectomies to maternity stays.

The obvious question that would be asked was why would the average citizen advocate limiting the liability of corporations and damages awarded in lawsuits filed against negligent plaintiffs and make accusations of lawsuit abuse? Interestingly enough the average citizen advocates were not the ones fostering citizen groups aimed at curbing what had been deemed lawsuit abuse. In fact, the grassroots campaigns launched nationwide to pressure politicians at the state and federal level were calling out members of the public that had filed "junk" suits, the attorneys that took such frivolous cases, and the judges that were known for their sympathies for plaintiffs.

Unfortunately, the members of many of the grassroots campaigns were not members of the general public. In fact, the majority of the lawsuit abuse groups were not being fostered by the average American, but undersigned the common targets of liability suits: large and small businesses and corporations, insurance companies, professionals like physicians, and professional and trade associations. At the time before, during and in the aftermath of suits filed against Big Tobacco, targets such as Philip Morris began a clandestine public relations movement.

According to SourceWatch.org, the online arm of media research group, the Center for Media and Democracy, the tort reform movement against lawsuit abuse was a project to preemptively stem the losses due to civil suits by sponsoring a corporate-funded effort designed for [promoting the] alteration of the legal system that would reduce or eliminate exposure to liability law suits .

SourceWatch.org alleges that the tobacco industry recruited the help of industries such as chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, automobile manufacturers, and insurance companies to name a few. One of the primary methods that would be used by the corporate entities would be the grass roots agitation for tort reform . The methods of the public relations campaign would utilize grassroots tools like polling and direct mass mailing to promote their agenda. Today industries such as asbestos manufacturers, the health care, and the pharmaceutical industries are following the play book of Big Tobacco.


Sources:
The Facts . CALA.org. 1998. Silicon Valley Square/ David Leyson. 25 Jan 2007 <http://www.cala.org/cause.html>.
About Us . 2006. Central California CALA. 25 Jan 2007. <http://www.stopbadlawsuits.com/index.php/CCCAL A/SitePage1/About_CCCALA>.
Tort Reform. SourceWatch/ Center for Media & Democracy.22 Nov. 2006. 25 Jan 2007 <http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Tort_re form>..
“Tort Reform.” Wikipedia. 16 Jan. 2007. 25 Jan 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort_reform>.