This article illustrates the need for trial lawyers and keeping that route option open.
See how Texas shut down the medical lawsuits under the guide of malpractice reform where it didn't really work as advertised.
In an ideal world, the consumer protection agencies, etc would do their jobs. But they can't because of the revolving door syndrome, the industry lobbying, and so on.
So what are our alternatives to force companies to fix their product defects? People actually died due to their shoddy design/production and these companies tried to hide or cover up.
I wouldn't be surprised to see an increased effort to pass laws to remove the ability for us to sue companies in case something goes wrong. This on top of the media campaign to paint trial lawyers as the scum of earth. Some may but many are actually very good and very dedicated at what they do.
It's probably self-serving, but I think it's valuable to have people in society who have different incentive structures. Trial lawyers don't answer to share holders or analysts--they answer only to judges and juries composed of ordinary people off the street. Within an otherwise capitalistic market economy, having some of them around provides a valuable foil.
Tort reform in Texas worked out as designed--what you have to ask is: what was it designed to do? Take caps on jury damages: do you think that's targeted at frivolous litigation? Or is it targeted at limiting compensation in the most meritorious cases, ones where someone really fucked up and a jury saw fit to award a big number?
What Texas is doing/has done would not have impacted this issue if a similar law were applied to manufacturing. The key here is that people at GM knew they had a problem and successfully hid it. If you were to apply a loosely copied version of the Texas law it would start a timer two years from revelation to get the suit going.
What annoys me most is the US government fined Toyota a billion dollars for not quickly identifying problems and so far GM has taking a walk comparatively. I really want to see a real fine on GM for this , given their CEO her positions coming up through the ranks would have/should have known about this problem. Maybe not its extent, but she would have at least heard aboutit
> In an ideal world, the consumer protection agencies, etc would do their jobs. But they can't because of the revolving door syndrome, the industry lobbying, and so on.
The article mentions the possibility of criminal charges against the switch engineer, if someone kept digging there could very well be evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the oversight agencies as well. When people start going to jail real change will be effected. But who's going the champion the multi-year investigation without a multi-million dollar carrot?
There's been quite a string of front page posts the last week; mercury dumping in rivers, tainted generic drugs, faulty ignition switches. Perhaps thousands of cases of criminally negligent homicide and no charges filed in any case.
Cut off the criminal and civil routes for justice and I guess vigilantism is all that's left.
See how Texas shut down the medical lawsuits under the guide of malpractice reform where it didn't really work as advertised.
In an ideal world, the consumer protection agencies, etc would do their jobs. But they can't because of the revolving door syndrome, the industry lobbying, and so on.
So what are our alternatives to force companies to fix their product defects? People actually died due to their shoddy design/production and these companies tried to hide or cover up.
I wouldn't be surprised to see an increased effort to pass laws to remove the ability for us to sue companies in case something goes wrong. This on top of the media campaign to paint trial lawyers as the scum of earth. Some may but many are actually very good and very dedicated at what they do.