Tort Reform

Special Report

Justice Denied: 71 ALEC Bills in 2013 Make It Harder to Hold Corporations Accountable for Causing Injury or Death

by Brendan Fischer — July 10, 2013 - 7:31am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations, Politics

    • At least 71 bills introduced in 2013 that make it harder for average Americans to access the civil justice system resemble "models" from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or "ALEC," according to an analysis by the Center for Media and Democracy, publishers of ALECexposed.org.

    News

    Echoing ALEC's Playbook, the Real Story of Walker's Tort "Reform"

    by Lisa Graves — September 4, 2012 - 8:00am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations

    • On New Year's weekend in 2011, many Wisconsinites were focused on the Badgers' return to the Rose Bowl or whether the Green Bay Packers would beat the Detroit Lions and get another shot to win the Super Bowl, but the incoming administration of Governor Scott Walker had other, bigger contests on its agenda. In mid-winter, while many in the state were worried about who would win or lose the big games, Walker's team was preparing to change state law in numerous ways, including making it easier for corporations to win big cases and limit the damages paid if their products or practices kill or injure people in Wisconsin.

    News

    Wisconsin Recall Roundup June 5, 2012

    by PRW Staff — June 5, 2012 - 10:56am
  • Topics: Tort Reform, Wisconsin Protests

    • Former Walker Aide Goes to Court, His Lawyer Admits to Leaking Info to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    According to WisPolitics, a lawyer for Governor Scott Walker's former deputy chief of staff, Timothy Russell, "acknowledged today that he released documents that resulted in a news story saying Scott Walker's administration had stonewalled the investigation of money stolen from a fund for veterans."

    Governor Walker has been adamant in saying that he has fully cooperated with the secret "John Doe" criminal investigation into his former staff and associates, but a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story published on May 31 cited a court document showing that the John Doe investigation was launched after Walker's Milwaukee County Executive's office was "unable or unwilling" to release requested documents to the Milwaukee District Attorney's office -- a damaging release on the eve of a recall.

    Op-Ed

    Caught on Tape: Walker Plans for a Single Party State

    by Mary Bottari — May 11, 2012 - 6:51am
  • Topics: Right Wing, Tort Reform, Corporations, Economy, Wisconsin Protests

    • Video was obtained and released by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel less than a month before the June 5th recall election for Wisconsin governor that shows newly elected Governor Scott Walker in a frank conversation with one of his biggest supporters.

    Op-Ed

    Rick Perry's Big Health Care "Oops"

    by Wendell Potter — December 9, 2011 - 2:14pm
  • Topics: Tort Reform, Health, Politics

    • I did exactly what the doctor told me to do. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling a bit better. Maybe even a little worse.

    Last week, Dr. Michael C. Burgess, tweeted this directive: "Mark your calendars: Rick Perry will join Health Caucus' Thought Leaders Series next Wednesday, December 7 @ 5 p.m."

    Eager to hear what thought leadership the Texas governor and presidential candidate would be imparting, I marked my calendar as Dr. Burgess prescribed. Imagine my dismay when I learned yesterday morning that Perry would be sharing his thoughts behind closed doors. The media and public, it turns out, had been disinvited.

    Op-Ed

    ALEC Politicians Spin Special "Interest" Bill to Protect Corporate Wrongdoers as "Job Creation"

    by Lisa Graves — October 13, 2011 - 11:13am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations, Economy, Pharmaceuticals, Propaganda

    • For years, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has been itching to protect big corporations from high interest rates charged in cases where corporations have killed or injured Americans. Now, Wisconsin politicians serving on key ALEC task forces are pushing a bill embracing this idea as part of ALEC alumnus Scott Walker's latest effort to force the ALEC agenda into law based on claims that doing so will help "job creators."

    News

    Wisconsin GOP Pushes ALEC Anti-Consumer Bill to Protect Drug Makers

    by Brendan Fischer — October 12, 2011 - 2:29pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Tort Reform, Corporations, Democracy, Economy

    • In the name of "job creation," Wisconsin GOP legislators are taking another page from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) playbook and pushing a bill that gives global corporations that manufacture drugs and medical devices immunity from lawsuits when their products injure or kill.

    News

    Join Us For a Special Screening of "Hot Coffee" Tonight in Madison With The Filmmaker!

    by Nikolina Lazic — September 30, 2011 - 9:32am
  • Topics: Tort Reform

    • We are joining the Wisconsin Association for Justice to welcome filmmaker Susan Saladoff for a special screening of her powerful and illuminating documentary, "Hot Coffee." It's about how corporations are distorting the truth and the law to limit the rights of people hurt by corporations. We think it is a must-see film!

    If you've been following our reporting on the American Legislative Exchange Council, you know that the first bill ALEC alumnus Scott Walker signed into law this year was far-reaching, so-called "tort reform" legislation that echoed some key ALEC model provisions and limited the rights of Wisconsin citizens injured or killed by corporations. Recent ALEC award winner Rick Perry, Texas governor and GOP presidential candidate, is touting similar changes he signed into law that protect corporate wrongdoers at the expense of injured Americans.

    News

    ALEC and "Tort Reform"

    by Brendan Fischer — July 13, 2011 - 8:00am
  • Topics: Right Wing, Tort Reform, Democracy, Wisconsin Protests

    • On October 23, 2009, Harrison "Harry" Kothari celebrated his second birthday by blowing out candles on a cake decorated with a giant airplane. At age two, Harry could ride a tricycle, stack blocks, and say words like "mama," "airplane," and "thank you." A month earlier, surgeons at a Houston hospital had removed a benign cyst from Harrison's head without problems. In follow-up visits, nurses drained cerebrospinal fluid to test for infection, and following normal protocol, wiped the area around the drain with what they assumed were sterile alcohol wipes. On December 1, Harry was dead, his tiny brain swollen by a Bacillus cereus infection apparently caused by contaminated alcohol wipes.

    Op-Ed

    Lone Star State "Reform" a Texas-Sized Distortion

    by Wendell Potter — April 4, 2011 - 10:00am
  • Topics: Tort Reform, Corporations, Health

    • When Republicans talk about how the American health care system should be reformed, they typically mention two things: allowing insurance firms to sell policies across state lines, which I wrote about last week; and malpractice reform.

    Newly-elected Republican governors, like Bill Haslam in Tennessee, are also pushing malpractice reform at the state level. They contend that such reform — favored by businesses and medical associations — would not only bring down the costs of health insurance premiums, it would also bring doctors flocking to their states to practice. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is considering another run for the White House, has touted malpractice reform as one of the primary "solutions" he would pursue if elected president. He claimed during a GOP-sponsored panel last week that malpractice reform would nearly eliminate unnecessary care that results from all those tests doctors order and drugs they prescribe just because they fear being sued. "The cost of defensive medicine," he claimed, "is $800 million a year."

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