The Tort Wars, at a Turning Point (could be big)

The New York Times ^ | 9 October 2005 | JONATHAN D. GLATER

[Hunden]

FOR the lawyers who file lawsuits against corporations, it looked like the next big thing

[Hunden]

Fighting back now appears to trump appeasement in the field of tort litigation.

"By playing courtroom hardball, forcing lawyers for claimants to produce evidence that their clients had silicosis symptoms and deserved compensation, a small group of defense lawyers may have just changed the rules of so-called mass tort litigation."

[pabianice]

asbestos, the fire-retardant material that when inhaled can cause a horrible lung cancer

Already disproven. is the father of leftist Lies.

[camle]

let me see if I get this straight...

thelaintiff's lawyers took to using "questionable" claimants to bolster the payouts, right? The defendants finally had enough (the envelope was pushed too far) and held their ground - and won, right?

So now the plaintiff lawyers are whining that things are gonna get tough for them? Seems to me that they're getting the just deserts of their greed.

[bt-99]

Do any of the FR lawyers know if these plaintiff lawyers or doctors can be sued for fraud or have any criminal charges brought against them, that would really change their strategy?

[jammer]

In a deposition last year, Dr. Harron said he charged up to $125 for each case he reviewed; the amount was not affected by his diagnosis.

Another lie: if he doesn't come up with the "right" diagnosis, he gets no more money--the lawyers just won't use him. Whore.

BTW, aren't you supposed to just excerpt NYT articles?

[Piquaboy]

Not breathing can be hazardous to your health.

[frithguild]

OMG what a nightmare!! Actually paying a defense lawyer to do his job - root out fraud! Who would think that an attorney could accomplish a good result?!?!

At some level, the outcome of the silica litigation raises the question of why defense lawyers were not more successful in challenging the validity of claims in the past.

Alternative Dispute Resolution, mediation, innovative strategies for dealing with mass torts does decrease defense costs, i.e. attorneys fees paid for the defense of a claim. All of these "solutions" were employed in asbestos claims. But there is no free lunch. Don't pay your defense lawyer and you WILL be paying fraudulent claims.

Tort reform that takes defense lawyers away from the process will lead to the same results as "solutions" other than in you face litigation and a trial in front of a jury.

[NonLinear]

Seems like charges should be filed against some lawyers and doctors....

[al_again]

Already Disproven???

Please provide credible evidence of this. Asbestos is and has been proven to be a cancerous agent time and time again.

[Redbob]

And this doesn't even mention the lawyer for the plaintiffs who, when questioned by Judge Jack about his prior testimony in an asbstos case said, in effect, "I lied."!!!

The Wall Street Journal has done a far better job of covering this case than has the NYT - surprise, surprise!

Janis Jack for Supreme Court!

[al_again]

I think that is what really needs to happen. Start putting these crooks in jail where they belong. I think that would have a huge impact on the current legal climate!

[frithguild]

Already disproven.

Asbestos exposure does not cause mesothelioma??

[Redbob]

"Please provide credible evidence of this. Asbestos is and has been proven to be a cancerous agent time and time again."

Certain KINDS of asbestos are far more dangerous than others, depending on fiber types.
Don't confuse the issues here, though; the asbestos lawsuits were never about anything other than enriching lawyers, while those who suffered genuine injury were left hanging.

[Savage Beast]

Fear of litigation hangs like a dark cloud over American society as fear of the Inquisition hung over El Greco's Toledo.

And just as 16th- and 17th-century Spanyards could not think their way out of the Inquisition, 21st-century Americans cannot think their way out of the litiginous society.

Say the word lawsuit anywhere in the United States, and watch people's pupils dilate.

Yet they tolerate it.

Raise the subject anywhere in the world, and watch people ridicule the Americans for living under such a frightening and absurd cloud. "Everybody's suing everybody else!" "What's wrong with those people?" It's like the Muslims issuing fatwas against one another.

Meanwhile, Americans have allowed plaintiffs' awards to price health care out of the reach of everyone.

Thumb through the yellow pages. How many lawyers are listed? Look on the back of the phone book!

[Mini-14]

I hold the opinion that silica is nasty stuff when inhaled. I used to have horrible asthma problems with constant coughing and wheezing. My fiance is a scientist who studies lung diseases and she told me to switch brands of cat litter because I was breathing clouds of dust that contained silica.

I switched to a brand of cat litter that was made entirely of pine chips, and within a month all of my problems went away.

[frithguild]

the asbestos lawsuits were never about anything other than enriching lawyers, while those who suffered genuine injury were left hanging.

You cannot seriously question that the dangers of asbestos, i.e. it causes pulmonary problems and causes lung cancer, were generally known among asbestos producers in the 1930's and that information about the dangers was kept secret while production continued. Without trial lawyers, the cost of treating those exposed would be borne by private health insurance, Medicare and Medicade - meaning you and me. How is taking trial lawyers out of the equasion a good thing?

[Kolokotronis]

"Do any of the FR lawyers know if these plaintiff lawyers or doctors can be sued for fraud or have any criminal charges brought against them, that would really change their strategy?"

I suppose the lawyers could be sued for something like abuse of process and there is a civil rule in most jurisdictions, called Rule 11 which allows for some hellacious sanctions to be imposed for bring frivolous claims. As for criminal charges, well they would probably be something along the lines of perjury or subornation of perjury or maybe conspiracy or RICO claims, but those are notoriously hard to prove when arising in a civil context. In five minutes I could probably come up with a dozen different very good defenses to any civil or criminal claims brought against these attorneys and/or the doctors.

Some of these large plaintiff's class action law firms are real beauties. Years ago a large souther products liability firm tried to put together a class action suit in the retail gasoline industry on an arcane point of anti-trust law. They went around the country trying to sign up retail dealers and their associations as plaintiffs and in the process contacted the association attorneys seeking their help in getting dealers on board. A number of those attorneys refused because, being well informed on the anti-trust law aspects of gasoline marketing, they thought the case was a looser from the get go. When those lawyers refused, the class action lawyers began to threaten the dealer lawyers that they would sue them for malpractice on behalf of dealers who didn't join the class after they succeeded in their suit. To the best of my knowledge, none of the dealer lawyers backed off... the the class action lawyers lost their case, just as the dealer lawyers predicted they would.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Asbestos is and has been proven to be a cancerous agent time and time again.

Independent of tobacco smoke? I read that there is a negative synergy between the two. That people who inhale asbestos are more likely to get cancer if they smoke than are people who do not inhale asbestos. But that people who inhale asbestos and do not smoke are not significantly more likely to get cancer than those who neither inhale asbestos nor smoke.

[knuthom]

forcing lawyers for claimants to produce evidence that their clients had silicosis symptoms and deserved compensation

This wasn't already standard procedure? That amazes me.

[Tenacious 1]

I couldn't read the whole article. I get sick of this crap.

Manufacturing and Construction industries already take the proper percautions per OSHA to avoid the exposure risk to inhaling these types of particulates. They are treated as hazerdous material. Asbestos should never have been banned. Lead in paint? Ok that is a little closer because liberals can't help themselves, they have to eat paint.

I wish judges would rule frivolous claims as such and charge the plaintiff and their client 2X the amount of damages sought to be paid to the state and defendant.

Maybe lawyers would get back to practicing justice instead of whoring.