Trial Lawyers Fight Preemptive Rules Against Accountability
At least that’s how the nation’s trial lawyers view the Bush administration’s increasing use of federal health and safety regulations in defense of manufacturers trying to fend off multimillion-dollar liability claims from consumers in state courts.
The fine print of a 2006 Food and Drug Administration rule on prescription labeling that preempts, or overrides, state laws is proving to be a powerful weapon in the courtroom at a time when Merck is fighting thousands of lawsuits from consumers claiming they were harmed by its painkiller Vioxx.
“If Congress does not act, the Bush administration’s escalating use of stealth preemption will deprive consumers of their right to hold negligent corporations accountable for injuries caused by defective products while these same corporations continue to increase their bottom line,” said Gerie Voss, regulatory counsel for the American Association for Justice, a trade group in Washington that represents 52,000 trial lawyers.
“The states need to be able to offer citizens the ability to have recourse against wrongdoers, which is the ability to bring suit in state court,” Voss said.
Bush loves Americans so much he ties their hands when one of his buddies hurts them. He wants no recourse available when products maim or kill consumers. Oh yes, he will agree to a fixed damage amount that does not always address medical repercussions, after all, health care is for the well healed or well employed. By the way, the well healed and well employed can usually afford products that have little risk attached to them, because they are more expensive. Us po’ folk have the selection that the Great Wall of Mart offers at affordable prices, because they are manufactured in China. The law says imported products have no liability. Can’t sue for damages, but, if you’re lucky, you can get a replacement of equal or lesser value … Being poor sucks. But poor in America has little recourse anymore.
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