Personal Injury Lawyers, Personal Injury Law Under Attack, Consumers Hurting; NAPIL...

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Tue Jun 16, 2009 11:03am EDT

Personal Injury Lawyers, Personal Injury Law Under Attack, Consumers Hurting;
NAPIL Survey Finds

CALABASAS, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The findings of a recent survey on
"Legal Prudence and the American Jury" conducted by www.NAPIL.com indicate
significant problems with personal injury laws and the American jury system.

A primary finding uncovered in the survey identifies the proliferation of
plaintiff-unfriendly legal practices as one of the major problems facing the
civil justice system today. Major corporations, such as insurance companies,
drug manufacturers, US Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with other
pro-business proponents of tort reform legislation, have systematically
engaged in a deliberate and persistent campaign against plaintiffs, their
lawyers, and consumer protection laws. 

In an effort to gain support for limiting the breadth of consumer protection,
these so-called tort reform advocates argue that American corporations are all
under siege by immoral, unscrupulous trial lawyers who file unmeritorious
lawsuits and rely on unethical tactics for the purposes of obtaining large,
unjustified verdicts. 

This "tort reform" lobbying tactic has gained much momentum during the past 15
years, utilizing various biased media outlets to effectively target and label
the injured victims of corporate callousness as opportunists who are
attempting to capitalize on their blameless misfortune. To this end, the focus
has been narrowed to "personal responsibility," claiming that victims of
corporate negligence simply "should have been more careful." 

The result of these tenacious "tort reform" tactics is a severe bias among
potential jurors who routinely blame plaintiffs for increased insurance costs,
and either rule against plaintiffs or award insufficient damages. 

The ultimate risk is that "tort reform" rhetoric could lead to arcane
legislation such as the MICRA laws, which burden only plaintiffs who have
suffered the most horrific injuries, restricting their non-economic damages to
no more than $250,000.   

NAPIL.com's mission as a consumer rights advocate opposes the pro-profiteering
corporate tort reform lobby, seeking to educate the public and ensure that
those who have been wrongfully harmed receive just compensation for their
injuries. A well-informed populace will result in objective jurors and voters
as well as empowered, well-versed plaintiffs' attorneys who can effectively
represent injured consumers in a court of law.

About www.NAPIL.com
National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (www.NAPIL.com) is the largest
network of Personal Injury Lawyers on the web, ranks Number 1 on Google, and
offers free membership to members. Gold Members have access to leads generated
daily on the site.



SOURCE  National Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

David Sheehan, esq., +1-818-444-4444, pi@napil.com, for National Association
of Personal Injury Lawyers
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