The Citizens Voice - Don't cut off public's access to the courts

The Citizens Voice

Don't cut off public's access to the courts

01/25/2004

HB 1326 ranks among the worst proposals ever in PA.

If you became debilitated and then learned it was because you were exposed to toxic fumes from a product you were told was safe, what would you do?
You'd seek justice through the court system.
If your child were blinded by a toy and then you found out the same thing happened to hundreds of other children, what would you do?
You'd seek justice through the court system.
And you would be correct to do so.
To get fair compensation for yourself.
To stop the sellers of unsafe products from causing harm to others.
But what if there were no hope for you in the courts?
What if the only compensation you could get were so small that it would cost you more to seek justice than you could possibly receive?
The obvious answer is: You would have to suffer unjustly. And dangerous products, services, etc., would remain a threat to others.
These are not hypothetical questions.
In Pennsylvania this week, a Senate committee is expected to vote on a proposal to limit the ability of people to be compensated through the courts for injuries such as those described above.
The proposal is House Bill 1326. Is is called the "all-tort" legislation.
It began as a proposal to put caps on medical malpractice verdicts - which, in and of itself, was still being discussed. The legislature needed to eliminate frivolous lawsuits but to preserve the ability of people seriously harmed by medical mistakes to be justly compensated.
It has not yet been accomplished.
So expanding the legislation to include all forms of damage cases simply doesn't makes sense.
In fact, it would represent a huge step backward for Pennsylvanians.
"Such an all-tort bill would send Pennsylvania back to 1874," says an organization called the Committee for Justice for All, "when the Pennsylvania Constitution was amended specifically to bar the powerful and politically influential railroads from getting the legislature, which it controlled, from passing legislation limiting compensation for certain types of injuries."
Pennsylvania ought to be going forward - not backward.
We strongly urge our local state senators to oppose this bill.
HB 1326 ranks among the worst proposals ever to be put forth in Harrisburg. Because it's harmful to the public.