Reply #38: "Tort Reform" is a misnamed marketing scam by the GOP.

[TexasObserver]

REAL Tort Reform in the 1960s and 1970s is what gave us the right to pursue the likes of Toyota for their manufacturing defects. As the GOP often does, they steal a name for some positive action and attach it to their programs which run counter to the very positive name they call their action.

Example: The Patriot Act, which is unpatriotic and displaces constitutionally guaranteed rights.

In the 1970s, the GOP and big business were upset because real tort reform was taking place. After centuries of ridiculous rules which grossly favored the business defendants, real tort reform was taking place. Did you know that 40 years ago, in many jurisdictions, ANY negligence by the plaintiff was a complete bar to any recovery by the plaintiff? That means if you were 1% negligent crossing the street and the truck that hit you was 99% negligence, they walked entirely. That's the way tort law was before real tort reform of the 1960s and 1970s.

Any time someone mentions tort reform, tell them that what the GOP wants is not tort reform. If a group wanted to go back to 1963 on civil rights, would we call it Civil Rights Reform? No, because it isn't reform.

The GOP calls "tort reform" all their efforts to take away from injured parties the right to be fully compensated for their injuries in litigation.

You know who abuses the litigation process? The corporate defendants who use litigation to beat down their competitors, their vendors, their employees, and the people they injure with their products. They use a phalanx of lawyers to fight and beat down opponents.

If you want tort reform, demand that prevailing plaintiffs be awarded attorneys fees, expert fees, and costs of court over and above the damages they may be awarded at trial.