Lawsuit Finance Blog

I confess. Like many Americans, I took most of historic yesterday off to watch the inauguration. I was proud to witness events displaying that we, the people, had finally overcome some of the mindless hatred and prejudice of the past to elect, for the first time, an African-American citizen, as president of the United States. The timing, a day after Martin Luther King's birthday celebration, was equally memorable. President Obama has a daunting task in front of him. We face a severe economic crisis, wars on several fronts, and a loss of confidence in our government and our elected officials. In my opinion, we also continue to sacrifice the civil rights of the individual at the alter of big business. It seems that what is good for business is important, regardless of whether it is bad for individual citizens.

In his inaugural address, President Obama said these words: " Our Founding Fathers...drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man...Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake".

Granted, he was not necessarily talking about civil justice or the civil justice system in America. The words, though, apply to the topic. Many attempts have been made, at state, judicial, and federal levels, to erode civil justice for individuals in favor of large corporate interests. Former President George W. Bush was solidly in favor of business over individuals or, to reverse a slogan of the American Association for Justice: "profits over people". I challenge President Obama to stand for individual justice for all our citizens, to respect the right of all citizens to a trial by jury, to reject proposed tort immunities and other restrictions on our citizens' access to our court system, and to restore the rule of law to our civil justice system. I challenge him to put "people over profits". Big business can surely profit without the need to sacrifice the rights of individual. I believe that President Obama is a man of vision who will clearly see that the path to corporate profits should not and cannot be paved on the backs of the injured or disabled in our society. Mr. President: I take you at and hold you to your words.

Lawsuit Financial provides legal funding completely contingent on the outcome of the case; the money is free is the case resolves without payment to the plaintiff. Lawsuit Financial provides litigation funding for Auto Accident victims and all other personal injury victims with pending lawsuits. Call us, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848), and talk to an experienced legal finance representative for free. Or, visit us on the web at www.lawsuitfinancial.com. We want to be your legal funding company and we will do everything in our power to earn your business.

Posted by Mark Bello of Lawsuit Financial Corp. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Lawsuit Funding Thought of the Day

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As reported previously at this site, 'tort reform' legislation, especially a "free pass" for the drug industry, is a bad idea for United States citizens. Usually, these types of reforms are proposed at the behest of "big business" or "big pharmaceutical" using the national, state or local Chambers of Commerce as an introductory vehicle. The suggestion is, usually, that "tort reform" is good for "business". While it certainly may assist big business in making higher profits, clearly, it does so by putting the safety and constitutional rights of individual citizens in peril.

In two separate posts at this site, August 15, 2008, "Doctors Agree That Lawsuits Ensure Drug Safety Far Better than the FDA" and October 29, 2008, "Drug Company Immunity-A Bad Deal for U.S. Citizens", I have lamented that Michigan, my state, is the only state in the union that provides absolute immunity for manufacturers of FDA approved drugs. The legislation that created this abomination, additional justice-restricting measures, and a number of anti-justice judicial appointments by a three-term Republican governor have combined to do significant and irreparable damage to a vast number of innocent and disabled Michigan citizens and taxpayers.

With the Michigan experience as a background, I am sad to report that, in an article in the Columbus (Georgia) Ledger-Inquirer dated January 13, 2009, Associated Press Reporter Greg Bluestein reports that similar legislation is now being proposed in Georgia by Governor Sonny Perdue. The legislation would make Georgia the second state in the union to provide absolute immunity to FDA approved drugs.

As is typical with this type of proposal, it claims to have the politically correct aim of reducing what the governor calls "frivolous" lawsuits. The measure would hold plaintiffs responsible for corporate defendants' attorney fees if their lawsuits are dismissed "early in the process". There are two obvious problems with this standard: 1. Just because a judge (perhaps, with a political agenda) dismisses a case it does not follow that it was "frivolous" and 2. It would have a chilling effect on the institution of serious litigation because of the fear that a judge with a political agenda would dismiss the litigation and assess attorney fees.

Further, as always, reducing "frivolous lawsuit" filings is never the agenda of tort reformers. The true agenda is to reduce the filing of serious lawsuits and the amount big business and big insurance are required to pay the victims. That is why these proposals have a Michigan-like drug company immunity (if litigated drug has received FDA approval). Whether the drug kills, maims or injures is not the standard; the manufacturer only needs to show that its very dangerous and defective product received FDA approval to avoid liability. This is, apparently, what the former Michigan governor and, now, Georgia Governor Perdue mean when utilizing the term "meritless litigation". By the way, Perdue rolled out his 'plan' at the annual Georgia Chamber of Commerce breakfast in front of 2,500 business owners and Chamber members. "With the help of the General Assembly, we'll make plain that the threat of 'meritless litigation' is not a viable business strategy in Georgia," said the Governor.

Thankfully, Georgia citizens can rely on the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the state association of lawyers who represent 'citizens' or 'plaintiff's' in litigation, to fight these proposals on behalf of their current and future clients.

"People in Georgia are really hurting. We have some really serious issues that legislators have been working to solve, and right now they're proposing on top of all this to take away the constitutional rights of the people in Georgia?" asked their spokesperson.

I have called upon Michigan citizens to rally against this type of legislation and I call upon Georgia citizens to do the same. Each one of us, each one of us, is one accident away from being catastrophically injured or disabled. To find yourself in that circumstance and to have your own elected officials (people you may have voted for) working on legislation to prevent you from receiving justice, from receiving simple and appropriate compensation for the wrong perpetrated upon you, is serious insult upon serious injury. Don't let the Chamber, the Governor or the Legislature do this to you or your fellow citizens without voicing your strong opposition to such proposed legislation. As we have seen with the financial bailout, when the responsible business refuses to pay or gets a "free pass" from doing so, the taxpayers are left holding the bag. A disabled person will rely on government benefits (taxpayers) when private business or insurance is excused from responsibility.

I have seen, in Michigan, what grass roots organization against these type of politics can do in opposition. I encourage you to get involved, organize, contact your legislator and state or local trial lawyer or consumer advocacy associations. Once legislation like this passes, it is almost impossible to get rid of. Therefore, Georgia, I implore you to oppose it from the top of your voice.

Lawsuit Financial is a nationwide legal funding company that provides litigation plaintiffs with interim financial help while they wait for their litigation to resolve. This important lawsuit financing service is available for many drug liability cases and for auto accidents and/or any other type of personal injury case. Please visit our website at www.lawsuitfinancial.com our call us, toll free, at 1-877-377-SUIT(7848).

Posted by Mark Bello of Lawsuit Financial Corp. | Permalink | Email This Post

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Happy New Year to all of our readers and clients. Hopefully 2009 will be a year of health and happiness for all. The National Law Journal reports that 2009 will be a very happy year for plaintiffs and attorneys who specialize in employment litigation.

According to a January 12, 2009 article written by staff reporter Tresa Baldas , "juries are expected to stick it to employers in workplace disputes this year". Reportedly, the reason is that jurors who have experienced a job loss or have watched a friend or relative suffer a job loss in this economy will be more likely to relate to or have sympathy for a plaintiff in a wrongful termination or discrimination situation. The article also suggests that the public trust in large companies has been eroded by the crisis and subsequent bailout of some of those companies (like insurance giant AIG, for example), who the public perceives to be unworthy of a taxpayer funded bailout.

It will be interesting to see whether this prediction comes to fruition. Lawsuit Financial Corporation has always provided legal finance to victims of wrongful termination and employment discrimination. It is expected that the demand for legal funding for these types of lawsuits, as well as traditional personal injury lawsuit funding, auto accident lawsuit funding, slip and fall lawsuit funding, and medical malpractice lawsuit funding will be on the upswing for 2009, as people look for alternate sources of revenue. Lawsuit Financial is committed to helping workplace and injury victims get the money they need so that their litigation can be handled to an appropriate and just resolution. Please visit www.lawsuitfinancial.com or call Lawsuit Financial, toll free, at 1-877-377 SUIT (7848) for a free analysis of your legal finance situation.

Posted by Mark Bello of Lawsuit Financial Corp. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Lawsuit Funding Thought of the Day

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