Personal Injury
Wrongful Death
Worker’s Comp

Tort Reform Nonsense

Tort reformers claim too many lawsuits delay the justice system and raise the costs of trials. They claim, "Frivolous tort cases are clogging our courts."

Well, just shows how much they know.

In fact, tort filings had decreased 9% since 1992, according to the National Center for State Courts. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, less than 20% of all federal civil cases are tort cases. The cases that are on the rise are contract cases, generally business suing business.

A large reason why tort reformers are gaining support is due to the influence of the media. The media only reports on the extreme — never the normal. So the McDonald's coffee case, where a woman allegedly won millions by suing McDonalds from a coffee spill that caused her third degree burns, isn't exactly "the normal." Plus, this wasn't just a whim; there were more than 700 claims from people who were burned by McDonald's coffee — apparently the coffee was too hot. The judge reduced the jury award of $2.9 million to $600,000, the appropriate amount to cover medical costs after the woman needed massive skin grafts.

This case and other eccentric cases give a very false impression of our legal system. Don't be fooled; our legal system is not a money machine where anyone can sue anyone just to collect money. It isn't what tort reformers make it out to be. It's the pride of this nation; it's the reason why many countries envy the United States. It's truly a “justice” system and we’re proud to represent those in need.