July 2012

Jul 23, 2012 11:15 AM

A 50-Cent Fix that Could Have Saved Lives

Those who attack the civil justice system in the name of so-called “tort reform” frequently don’t bother with facts.

That has been proven again by the Wall Street Journal in an editorial on gas can litigation. Had the Journal’s editorial writers done a little bit of homework before making their argument that a manufacturer of gas cans was being picked on by lawyers, they would have learned about the 50-cent fix that could have saved thousands from serious burns and death.

Jul 19, 2012 03:29 PM

Big Numbers Expected at AAJ Convention

As plaintiff lawyers gather in Chicago for their annual convention, there will be a lot more of them than usual. Attendance numbers for the American Association of Justice convention are up significantly, the highest in five years.

This comes on the heels of AAJ’s winter meeting in Miami in 2011 which set a record for the best-attended winter meeting ever.

Why so much growth? CEO Linda Lipsen says the numbers partly reflect AAJ’s progress on a host of issues.

Jul 12, 2012 04:01 PM

NYT: ALEC is a fraud on taxpayers

Today the New York Times calls out the shadowy corporate front group known as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on its tax-exempt status as a nonpartisan charity despite ALEC’s clear pro-corporate, anti-consumer mission.

Jul 11, 2012 11:36 AM

Why Replacing the ACA with Med-Mal is an Unconstitutional Assault on Patients’ Rights

Before the ink was even dry on the Supreme Court ruling in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) case, numerous Members of Congress argued repeatedly and publicly to repeal and replace the ACA with a federal medical malpractice proposal that relies on the Commerce Clause for constitutional authority. This legislation would decimate the legal rights of patients injured by negligence, nursing home abuse, or defective drugs and devices and eliminate any incentive improve patient safety.

Jul 06, 2012 04:55 PM

Texas Health Care Ranked Last By Federal Study

Texas is continually touted as the poster child of how to lower health care cost: enact laws that limit patients’ rights to hold negligent care providers accountable.  Study after study continues to show not only have costs not declined, but the quality of health care in Texas was ranked the lowest in the country by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).