Greedy insurance companies (backed by big, powerful and greedy corporations) have been fighting the legal system, and particularly against Personal Injury attorneys for years, using propaganda ads and sensationalizing single cases out of thousands of legitimate claims and lawsuits. But have you ever thought about how instrumental the legal field has been in improving our every day lives and the activities which we all take for granted, and how many lives have been saved by those improvements?
One example of how the legal field has improved our daily activities and saved lives can be seen in the automotive industry. Yes, those metal boxes that we drive every day to work, to home, to school, for pleasure, or for transporting our greatest treasure - our family. Lets take a look as to how the legal system, and particularly Personal Injury attorneys, have improved the automotive industry and made it safer for all of us.
(1) Gas Tanks
Car manufacturers such as General Motors (GM), Ford and many others have designed defective gas tanks, the placement of which caused fire and explosion, even in minor car accidents. One such example was the Ford Pinto which was prone to fire and explosion. Because of lawsuits filed by Personal Injury attorneys, these companies were forced to redesign their cars and gas tanks are now generally located within rigid frames.
(2) Seat Belts
Lawsuits filed by Personal Injury attorneys went a long way to highlight the dangers of no seat belt and defective or inferior seat belts. One of those involved Chrysler's Gen 3 defective seat belts, which were installed in more than 14 million vehicles. These seat belts were defective because they had a tendency to unlatch in accidents, making them useless for the very purpose which they were invented. As a result of these lawsuits, seat belts (and seats) have been redesigned.
(3) Air Bags
As early as the 1950s, the technology for air bags has been in existence and developing. However, auto manufacturers were very slow in installing them. In lawsuits filed by Personal Injury attorneys, courts determined that auto manufacturers were aware that their cars would be safer with air bags and that air bags saved lives, leading to installation of air bags in all cars.
(4) Roof Crush Zone
Manufacturers, specifically makers of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), have known for a long time that the lack of roof strength was a critical safety flaw in rollover accidents. As a result of lawsuits filed by Personal Injury attorneys, manufacturers were forced to address this critical safety issue leading to the strengthening of automobile roofs.
(5) Side Impact Protection
In a lawsuit filed by a police officer who was left paralyzed in a low-speed, side impact collision, the court found that the absence of side protection was a design defect. This decision resulted in cars being designed with a rigid side impact protection.
So, the next time you see an ad or hear about "too many lawsuits" or about "tort reform", stop and think about it: (1) Who benefits from tort reform and from fewer lawsuits? (2) Who suffers from tort reform and the lack of being able to file lawsuits? (3) Do you know how many lawsuits are filed every year? (4) How could anyone judge for themselves what the number of lawsuits filed would be justified and what number of lawsuits would be excessive? Finally, (5) Why are many of the lawsuits filed in the first place?
Here are the answers: Insurance companies and big (and wealthy) corporations are behind tort reform and stand to gain millions of (additional) dollars. There is no such thing as “too many lawsuits” because there is no way to gauge the number of lawsuits filed versus the number of lawsuits that should be filed. Insurance companies and big (and wealthy) corporations have been using deceptive marketing, telling us that most lawsuits are without merit. Clearly, there are some (handful of) lawsuits that lack merit, but the vast majority of the lawsuits filed have merit.
The one last fact that consumers should be aware of is that most lawsuits are filed because insurance companies (and the corporations behind them) force (and in fact dare) the injured party and his/her attorney to file the lawsuit instead of negotiating in good faith to resolve the matter.
