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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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Wiping out our ability to sue
Wiping out our ability to sue By Cory Franklin. Cory Franklin is an emergency room physician at Stroger Hospital Published September 17, 2004 Imagine for a minute a corporation manufacturing a product that has the ability to render everyday items heat resistant. The company produces large amounts of the compound and incorporates it into routine use so that it becomes a ubiquitous part of the American household. But there are clouds on the horizon. Indications arise that, after years of use, those involved in the manufacture of the compound develop crippling lung disease and unusual cancers that cause slow, painful death. When suspicions are confirmed internally, the company makes a fateful decision--it suppresses the information, concealing it from its own workers and the public. For the next 20 years, millions are exposed to the compound until public health studies reveal the cause and effect. Ultimately the company, which grew wealthy and powerful on the strength of the compound, must face thousands of lawsuits and is forced into bankruptcy. In the meantime, thousands of people have died, exposed to a product originally thought to be safe. This, of course, is the 20th Century story of asbestos. But now imagine a twist in the story that never actually happened. What if, early on, when it appeared asbestos was a miracle compound, there had been a Food and Drug Administration? (Much of this occurred before the FDA was created.) And what if, before most of those cancers and pulmonary problems had come to light, the FDA--with the backing of the U.S. government, the primary consumer of asbestos--declared it to be safe? Is it possible the public would still be facing asbestos exposure today? It is important to revisit the asbestos story, with the hypothetical FDA scenario, because if the Bush administration has its way, there will be no lawsuits and limited public discovery about the dangers of prescription drugs and medical devices that initially appear safe but ultimately carry serious long-term dangers. Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice recently argued in court that if the FDA has approved a product, people are not eligible to recover damages. If a designation of safety by the FDA provides an absolute defense against lawsuits, the government is essentially bestowing the Holy Grail on pharmaceutical and medical product companies, defense lawyers and the insurance industry. No greater gift could come their way. Yet the FDA is not now and never can be the ultimate arbiter of product safety for a very simple reason--it can never see into the future. At best, the FDA can give only a reasonable indication of a product's current status. Completely removing the threat of lawsuits leaves the public vulnerable to all sorts of malfeasance and misfeasance. Within reason, the government argument has merit. Frivolous litigation does discourage companies from introducing new products. Companies forced to contend with different rules in different states face increased costs and confusion. Clearly, the public is ill-served if new products cannot be made available because of litigation fears. Venal attorneys and greedy plaintiffs looking for favorable venues and unjustifiable damages will always be with us. But all of this simply does not create an imperative for an overly expansive policy on legal immunity, especially when a government agency, subject to political winds, has the final word on safety. If we are meant to understand this new FDA proposal, what Bush officials are saying, with an absolutely straight face, is this: "I'm here from the government and I can assure you that the medical product you depend on is safe. There's no need to worry." Strange words coming from a Republican administration. And words that not even the most devoted pro-business, anti-trial lawyer, medical-innovation-promoting, diehard Chamber-of-Commerce-loving capitalist could really believe. Copyright © Sept. 17, 2004, Chicago Tribune Now their checking the Dangers of using Aspertame and Teflon... and if they find that you have put your health and life in jeopardy, you will not be able to sue the *******s |
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On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 09:56:35 -0500, "THEOLDONE"
wrote: Wiping out our ability to sue By Cory Franklin. Cory Franklin is an emergency room physician at Stroger Hospital Published September 17, 2004 Imagine for a minute a corporation manufacturing a product that has the ability to render everyday items heat resistant. The company produces large amounts of the compound and incorporates it into routine use so that it becomes a ubiquitous part of the American household. But there are clouds on the horizon. Indications arise that, after years of use, those involved in the manufacture of the compound develop crippling lung disease and unusual cancers that cause slow, painful death. When suspicions are confirmed internally, the company makes a fateful decision--it suppresses the information, concealing it from its own workers and the public. For the next 20 years, millions are exposed to the compound until public health studies reveal the cause and effect. Ultimately the company, which grew wealthy and powerful on the strength of the compound, must face thousands of lawsuits and is forced into bankruptcy. In the meantime, thousands of people have died, exposed to a product originally thought to be safe. This, of course, is the 20th Century story of asbestos. But now imagine a twist in the story that never actually happened. What if, early on, when it appeared asbestos was a miracle compound, there had been a Food and Drug Administration? (Much of this occurred before the FDA was created.) And what if, before most of those cancers and pulmonary problems had come to light, the FDA--with the backing of the U.S. government, the primary consumer of asbestos--declared it to be safe? Is it possible the public would still be facing asbestos exposure today? It is important to revisit the asbestos story, with the hypothetical FDA scenario, because if the Bush administration has its way, there will be no lawsuits and limited public discovery about the dangers of prescription drugs and medical devices that initially appear safe but ultimately carry serious long-term dangers. Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Justice recently argued in court that if the FDA has approved a product, people are not eligible to recover damages. If a designation of safety by the FDA provides an absolute defense against lawsuits, the government is essentially bestowing the Holy Grail on pharmaceutical and medical product companies, defense lawyers and the insurance industry. No greater gift could come their way. This course of action was actually started back during the Reagan administration. No law suit is frivilous when one's health is involved. The problems with the current system ingards to both the health aspect(FDA) and legal issues is that our government has been bought and paid for with corporate monies.(lobbying) an accurate analogy would be one of the fox guarding the hen house. Also as you state, the FDA has at best finite powers even when it chooses to work for to the benefit of the people rather than corporate entities. As has been proven time and time again when new technologies and medical knowledge emerge we gain more insight into what is and isn't harmful to our health. That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. Yet the FDA is not now and never can be the ultimate arbiter of product safety for a very simple reason--it can never see into the future. At best, the FDA can give only a reasonable indication of a product's current status. Completely removing the threat of lawsuits leaves the public vulnerable to all sorts of malfeasance and misfeasance. Within reason, the government argument has merit. Frivolous litigation does discourage companies from introducing new products. Companies forced to contend with different rules in different states face increased costs and confusion. Clearly, the public is ill-served if new products cannot be made available because of litigation fears. Venal attorneys and greedy plaintiffs looking for favorable venues and unjustifiable damages will always be with us. But all of this simply does not create an imperative for an overly expansive policy on legal immunity, especially when a government agency, subject to political winds, has the final word on safety. Up till the time of corporate takeover of the governement the idea in the judicial system was that it was better to allow a few frivilous lawsuits to prevail rather than deny one injured party the right to legal recompense. After all the track record of corporate industry was far from pristine, in fact it was shown to be extremely corrupt with it's sole concern that of maximizing profits at any and all costs and with little or no regard for public safety.(Any concern for consumer safety was only incidental and was really only a self-concern inregards to possible lawsuits. Just look at the Ford Pinto as the classic example.) If we are meant to understand this new FDA proposal, what Bush officials are saying, with an absolutely straight face, is this: "I'm here from the government and I can assure you that the medical product you depend on is safe. There's no need to worry." Yeah right! The biggest lie ever told. "I'm from the government, I'm here to help you." One only has to look at the actions of the FDA over the past 24 years to see it no longer has the public interest at heart. Attacking the vitamin/supplement industry while allowing toxic crap to flow freely onto the consumer market all the while. Strange words coming from a Republican administration. And words that not even the most devoted pro-business, anti-trial lawyer, medical-innovation-promoting, diehard Chamber-of-Commerce-loving capitalist could really believe. Copyright © Sept. 17, 2004, Chicago Tribune Now their checking the Dangers of using Aspertame and Teflon... and if they find that you have put your health and life in jeopardy, you will not be able to sue the *******s Sure enough Aspertame is harmful to many, but let's not forget the "latest" poison they've trotted out, Splenda.(It contains harful levels of chlorine.) |
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On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:16:11 -0500, gothika
wrote: ... The problems with the current system ingards to both the health aspect(FDA) and legal issues is that our government has been bought and paid for with corporate monies.(lobbying) an accurate analogy would be one of the fox guarding the hen house. Also as you state, the FDA has at best finite powers even when it chooses to work for to the benefit of the people rather than corporate entities. ... After all the track record of corporate industry was far from pristine, in fact it was shown to be extremely corrupt with it's sole concern that of maximizing profits at any and all costs and with little or no regard for public safety.(Any concern for consumer safety was only incidental and was really only a self-concern inregards to possible lawsuits. Just look at the Ford Pinto as the classic example.) The history of the FDA is a short, eye opening look at corporate corruption. The FDA came into being because of some ugly business, it's been pretty well co-opted these days, but will be reformed when the body count gets high enough. |
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On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 19:52:11 -0700, been there done that wrote:
On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:16:11 -0500, gothika wrote: ... The problems with the current system ingards to both the health aspect(FDA) and legal issues is that our government has been bought and paid for with corporate monies.(lobbying) an accurate analogy would be one of the fox guarding the hen house. Also as you state, the FDA has at best finite powers even when it chooses to work for to the benefit of the people rather than corporate entities. ... After all the track record of corporate industry was far from pristine, in fact it was shown to be extremely corrupt with it's sole concern that of maximizing profits at any and all costs and with little or no regard for public safety.(Any concern for consumer safety was only incidental and was really only a self-concern inregards to possible lawsuits. Just look at the Ford Pinto as the classic example.) The history of the FDA is a short, eye opening look at corporate corruption. The FDA came into being because of some ugly business, it's been pretty well co-opted these days, but will be reformed when the body count gets high enough. You are too optimistic, the body count has been quite high for many years now and the corrupt practices just go on and on. It'll take blood in the streets and in the highest halls to clean up this corrupt government. |
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On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 01:59:05 -0500, gothika
wrote: On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 19:52:11 -0700, been there done that wrote: The history of the FDA is a short, eye opening look at corporate corruption. The FDA came into being because of some ugly business, it's been pretty well co-opted these days, but will be reformed when the body count gets high enough. You are too optimistic, the body count has been quite high for many years now and the corrupt practices just go on and on. It'll take blood in the streets and in the highest halls to clean up this corrupt government. LOL. c'mon... tell us what you REALLY think I think the term "high enough" is linguistically correct. |
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On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:16:11 -0500, gothika put
finger to keyboard and composed: No law suit is frivilous when one's health is involved. The problems with the current system ingards to both the health aspect(FDA) and legal issues is that our government has been bought and paid for with corporate monies.(lobbying) an accurate analogy would be one of the fox guarding the hen house. Also as you state, the FDA has at best finite powers even when it chooses to work for to the benefit of the people rather than corporate entities. As has been proven time and time again when new technologies and medical knowledge emerge we gain more insight into what is and isn't harmful to our health. That cuts both ways. What if products, or procedures, that were once thought harmful were proven not to be? John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, has made a preposterously rich living chasing ambulances. According to the July 19, 2004 issue of Time, he, like many greedy lawyers, charges a whopping 33% for each successful litigation. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars goes into the pockets of these parasites, and of course the public ultimately foots the bill. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards won judgments totalling more than US$152m in 63 lawsuits. In one case Edwards won damages in the amount of $4.2m for a child born with brain damage and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This case has contributed to an increase of 5% in the numbers of Caesarean sections since 1970. Time goes on to say that "meanwhile, medical research has been challenging the conventional wisdom that birth trauma was the principal culprit in cerebral palsy." "There seems to be no scientific question that most of that injury (cerebral palsy) occurs prenatally and is not related to the delivery", says Dr H. Davis Burton, whose partner was a defendant in a lawsuit argued by Edwards and who later served as North Carolina's secretary of health and human services. That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. - Franc Zabkar -- Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email. |
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On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:09:40 +1000, Franc Zabkar
wrote: On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:16:11 -0500, gothika put finger to keyboard and composed: No law suit is frivilous when one's health is involved. The problems with the current system ingards to both the health aspect(FDA) and legal issues is that our government has been bought and paid for with corporate monies.(lobbying) an accurate analogy would be one of the fox guarding the hen house. Also as you state, the FDA has at best finite powers even when it chooses to work for to the benefit of the people rather than corporate entities. As has been proven time and time again when new technologies and medical knowledge emerge we gain more insight into what is and isn't harmful to our health. That cuts both ways. What if products, or procedures, that were once thought harmful were proven not to be? John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, has made a preposterously rich living chasing ambulances. According to the July 19, 2004 issue of Time, he, like many greedy lawyers, charges a whopping 33% for each successful litigation. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars goes into the pockets of these parasites, and of course the public ultimately foots the bill. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards won judgments totalling more than US$152m in 63 lawsuits. The public always foots the bill because the greedy corporate parasites refuse to take any kind of a loss, even when it's due to their own selfish actions. How typical of a Repube to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues. Who CARES if he chases ambulances! That's the JOB of a personal injury lawyer. At least he's there to get you some sort of justice. Why don't you mention the lawyers for the defendants who all to often sneak in illegally to trick the injured party's signature on liability release forms.(DON"T say it doesn't happens, happens every day.) Or that the defendants all to often clog up the justice system with endless appeals thereby costing taxpayers millions in court costs. In one case Edwards won damages in the amount of $4.2m for a child born with brain damage and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This case has contributed to an increase of 5% in the numbers of Caesarean sections since 1970. Time goes on to say that "meanwhile, medical research has been challenging the conventional wisdom that birth trauma was the principal culprit in cerebral palsy." Ceesareans DO carry more health risks contrary to what you would like to believe. The stats bear that out. "There seems to be no scientific question that most of that injury (cerebral palsy) occurs prenatally and is not related to the delivery", says Dr H. Davis Burton, whose partner was a defendant in a lawsuit argued by Edwards and who later served as North Carolina's secretary of health and human services. Right! Let's take the word of another right wing conservative as fact. After all they NEVER tell lies or spin facts do they? That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. Sure! Just repeal or nullify every law passed by Reagan, Bush senior and Dubya that robbed the individual of their rights to legal redress and we should at least be back to square one. Having a government that actually served the interests of the individual voters and aggressively went after the corporate monster would be nice too. - Franc Zabkar |
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On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 01:59:13 -0500, gothika put
finger to keyboard and composed: On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:09:40 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote: John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, has made a preposterously rich living chasing ambulances. According to the July 19, 2004 issue of Time, he, like many greedy lawyers, charges a whopping 33% for each successful litigation. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars goes into the pockets of these parasites, and of course the public ultimately foots the bill. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards won judgments totalling more than US$152m in 63 lawsuits. The public always foots the bill because the greedy corporate parasites refuse to take any kind of a loss, even when it's due to their own selfish actions. How typical of a Repube to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues. I'm not a Republican, nor a conservative. I choose to evaluate every issue on its merits, rather than accept an indivisible bag of prepackaged policies. In that respect I consider myself a democrat, in the dictionary sense of the word, not a "Democrat". Who CARES if he chases ambulances! That's the JOB of a personal injury lawyer. At least he's there to get you some sort of justice. Why don't you mention the lawyers for the defendants who all to often sneak in illegally to trick the injured party's signature on liability release forms. I despise *all* lawyers. Their profession is devoid of ethics and is founded purely on self interest. Any proposed legislation should impose limits on legal fees - it should not be a case of open slather. To take one example, most cases of workers' compensation fraud in Australia go unpunished, or uncontested, because legal costs exceed the benefits gained. In fact, lawyers in Australia are an impediment to justice, at least for the middle income earners. The rich scum can afford to buy any legal outcome they choose, and the dregs at the bottom of the social order have access to free legal aid. (DON"T say it doesn't happens, happens every day.) Or that the defendants all to often clog up the justice system with endless appeals thereby costing taxpayers millions in court costs. Agreed. And nothing will change as long as voters continue to vote for lawyers. In one case Edwards won damages in the amount of $4.2m for a child born with brain damage and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This case has contributed to an increase of 5% in the numbers of Caesarean sections since 1970. Time goes on to say that "meanwhile, medical research has been challenging the conventional wisdom that birth trauma was the principal culprit in cerebral palsy." Ceesareans DO carry more health risks contrary to what you would like to believe. The stats bear that out. The US medical system is erring too heavily on the side of caution. Other Western countries have much lower rates of C-sections. But then the USA has 2/3 of the world's lawyers looking over doctors' shoulders. In my area, the cost of professonal indemnity and public liability insurance is so high, that the majority of obstetricians have decided to give up their profession. Many public functions are now extinct because no insurer can be found to underwrite the risk. Every day, TV and newspaper advertisements extol the ambulance-chasing expertise of personal injury law firms. In fact, one firm emphasises its specialty as falling-on-your-arse-in-the-shopping-centre type incidents. "There seems to be no scientific question that most of that injury (cerebral palsy) occurs prenatally and is not related to the delivery", says Dr H. Davis Burton, whose partner was a defendant in a lawsuit argued by Edwards and who later served as North Carolina's secretary of health and human services. Right! Let's take the word of another right wing conservative as fact. After all they NEVER tell lies or spin facts do they? We should at least investigate the possibility that a good doctor may have been unfairly crucified. Anyway, "how typical of a [Democrat?] to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues." ;-) That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. Sure! Just repeal or nullify every law passed by Reagan, Bush senior and Dubya that robbed the individual of their rights to legal redress and we should at least be back to square one. Having a government that actually served the interests of the individual voters and aggressively went after the corporate monster would be nice too. I agree with you in principle, it's just a matter of balance. For example, there has to be some middle ground between the Ford Pinto case on the one hand, and the McDonalds Hot Coffee incident on the other. If it were up to me, I would implement an independent panel of intelligent laypersons to oversee court outcomes. This would be a kind of Stupid Judgments committee made up of people who know that coffee is hot, and that fatty foods make you fat. - Franc Zabkar -- Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email. |
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"Franc Zabkar" wrote in message ... On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 01:59:13 -0500, gothika put finger to keyboard and composed: On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:09:40 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote: John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, has made a preposterously rich living chasing ambulances. According to the July 19, 2004 issue of Time, he, like many greedy lawyers, charges a whopping 33% for each successful litigation. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars goes into the pockets of these parasites, and of course the public ultimately foots the bill. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards won judgments totalling more than US$152m in 63 lawsuits. The public always foots the bill because the greedy corporate parasites refuse to take any kind of a loss, even when it's due to their own selfish actions. How typical of a Repube to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues. I'm not a Republican, nor a conservative. I choose to evaluate every issue on its merits, rather than accept an indivisible bag of prepackaged policies. In that respect I consider myself a democrat, in the dictionary sense of the word, not a "Democrat". Who CARES if he chases ambulances! That's the JOB of a personal injury lawyer. At least he's there to get you some sort of justice. Why don't you mention the lawyers for the defendants who all to often sneak in illegally to trick the injured party's signature on liability release forms. I despise *all* lawyers. Their profession is devoid of ethics and is founded purely on self interest. Any proposed legislation should impose limits on legal fees - it should not be a case of open slather. To take one example, most cases of workers' compensation fraud in Australia go unpunished, or uncontested, because legal costs exceed the benefits gained. In fact, lawyers in Australia are an impediment to justice, at least for the middle income earners. The rich scum can afford to buy any legal outcome they choose, and the dregs at the bottom of the social order have access to free legal aid. (DON"T say it doesn't happens, happens every day.) Or that the defendants all to often clog up the justice system with endless appeals thereby costing taxpayers millions in court costs. Agreed. And nothing will change as long as voters continue to vote for lawyers. In one case Edwards won damages in the amount of $4.2m for a child born with brain damage and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This case has contributed to an increase of 5% in the numbers of Caesarean sections since 1970. Time goes on to say that "meanwhile, medical research has been challenging the conventional wisdom that birth trauma was the principal culprit in cerebral palsy." Ceesareans DO carry more health risks contrary to what you would like to believe. The stats bear that out. The US medical system is erring too heavily on the side of caution. Other Western countries have much lower rates of C-sections. But then the USA has 2/3 of the world's lawyers looking over doctors' shoulders. In my area, the cost of professonal indemnity and public liability insurance is so high, that the majority of obstetricians have decided to give up their profession. Many public functions are now extinct because no insurer can be found to underwrite the risk. Every day, TV and newspaper advertisements extol the ambulance-chasing expertise of personal injury law firms. In fact, one firm emphasises its specialty as falling-on-your-arse-in-the-shopping-centre type incidents. "There seems to be no scientific question that most of that injury (cerebral palsy) occurs prenatally and is not related to the delivery", says Dr H. Davis Burton, whose partner was a defendant in a lawsuit argued by Edwards and who later served as North Carolina's secretary of health and human services. Right! Let's take the word of another right wing conservative as fact. After all they NEVER tell lies or spin facts do they? We should at least investigate the possibility that a good doctor may have been unfairly crucified. Anyway, "how typical of a [Democrat?] to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues." ;-) That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. Sure! Just repeal or nullify every law passed by Reagan, Bush senior and Dubya that robbed the individual of their rights to legal redress and we should at least be back to square one. Having a government that actually served the interests of the individual voters and aggressively went after the corporate monster would be nice too. I agree with you in principle, it's just a matter of balance. For example, there has to be some middle ground between the Ford Pinto case on the one hand, and the McDonalds Hot Coffee incident on the other. If it were up to me, I would implement an independent panel of intelligent laypersons to oversee court outcomes. This would be a kind of Stupid Judgments committee made up of people who know that coffee is hot, and that fatty foods make you fat. - Franc Zabkar -- Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email. Er gents, with respect this is an international electronics repair group. I am sure most readers (who are probably outside the US) would, like me, prefer that you found somewhere else to argue your domestic politics, especially such long posts. All it does is use up valuable bandwidth and for people who pay by time for dial-up access it costs them money to see it to boot. -- Woody in Harrogate, UK |
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On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 08:46:42 +1000, Franc Zabkar
wrote: On Fri, 24 Sep 2004 01:59:13 -0500, gothika put finger to keyboard and composed: On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:09:40 +1000, Franc Zabkar wrote: John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate, has made a preposterously rich living chasing ambulances. According to the July 19, 2004 issue of Time, he, like many greedy lawyers, charges a whopping 33% for each successful litigation. That means that hundreds of millions of dollars goes into the pockets of these parasites, and of course the public ultimately foots the bill. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards won judgments totalling more than US$152m in 63 lawsuits. The public always foots the bill because the greedy corporate parasites refuse to take any kind of a loss, even when it's due to their own selfish actions. How typical of a Repube to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues. I'm not a Republican, nor a conservative. I choose to evaluate every issue on its merits, rather than accept an indivisible bag of prepackaged policies. In that respect I consider myself a democrat, in the dictionary sense of the word, not a "Democrat". Who CARES if he chases ambulances! That's the JOB of a personal injury lawyer. At least he's there to get you some sort of justice. Why don't you mention the lawyers for the defendants who all to often sneak in illegally to trick the injured party's signature on liability release forms. I despise *all* lawyers. Their profession is devoid of ethics and is founded purely on self interest. Any proposed legislation should impose limits on legal fees - it should not be a case of open slather. To take one example, most cases of workers' compensation fraud in Australia go unpunished, or uncontested, because legal costs exceed the benefits gained. In fact, lawyers in Australia are an impediment to justice, at least for the middle income earners. The rich scum can afford to buy any legal outcome they choose, and the dregs at the bottom of the social order have access to free legal aid. No different in the US. The rich have bought the legal system lock,stock and barrel. That's why they are now pushing legislation to lock out the working class from any use of the system to their benefit. hence the need for lawyers even more. I'm sure their are necesary evils in your society that you accept every day, so why so adverse to a few lawyers. As bad as many lawyers may be there are far worse persons in the workings of the system doing far more harm. Take politicians for instance! A good analogy would be fighting fire with fire. (DON"T say it doesn't happens, happens every day.) Or that the defendants all to often clog up the justice system with endless appeals thereby costing taxpayers millions in court costs. Agreed. And nothing will change as long as voters continue to vote for lawyers. In one case Edwards won damages in the amount of $4.2m for a child born with brain damage and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This case has contributed to an increase of 5% in the numbers of Caesarean sections since 1970. Time goes on to say that "meanwhile, medical research has been challenging the conventional wisdom that birth trauma was the principal culprit in cerebral palsy." Ceesareans DO carry more health risks contrary to what you would like to believe. The stats bear that out. The US medical system is erring too heavily on the side of caution. Other Western countries have much lower rates of C-sections. But then the USA has 2/3 of the world's lawyers looking over doctors' shoulders. In my area, the cost of professonal indemnity and public liability insurance is so high, that the majority of obstetricians have decided to give up their profession. Many public functions are now extinct because no insurer can be found to underwrite the risk. Every day, TV and newspaper advertisements extol the ambulance-chasing expertise of personal injury law firms. In fact, one firm emphasises its specialty as falling-on-your-arse-in-the-shopping-centre type incidents. "There seems to be no scientific question that most of that injury (cerebral palsy) occurs prenatally and is not related to the delivery", says Dr H. Davis Burton, whose partner was a defendant in a lawsuit argued by Edwards and who later served as North Carolina's secretary of health and human services. Right! Let's take the word of another right wing conservative as fact. After all they NEVER tell lies or spin facts do they? We should at least investigate the possibility that a good doctor may have been unfairly crucified. Part and parcel of being a Doctor these days. What high paying job doesn't come with equally high risks? Should doctors then be exempt from the facts of life in our society? It's just common sense to hold a professional to a higher standard who in return holds the power of life and death over us all. Anyway, "how typical of a [Democrat?] to always attack character instead of honestly debating the issues." ;-) I'm not a Democrat either, though I know from having lived a long time that whenever you have a Democrat in the White House and at least a fair balance in Congress the little guy doesn't get kicked quite as hard. Simply a matter of the lesser of two evils. And FYI you were the one who started the character attacks first. That said I believe we have sufficient tools in the arsenal of the medical science that when combined with the correct policy of erring on the side of caution we can maintain some level of safety in consumer products. It will require a major overhauling of our current system of government though. Sure! Just repeal or nullify every law passed by Reagan, Bush senior and Dubya that robbed the individual of their rights to legal redress and we should at least be back to square one. Having a government that actually served the interests of the individual voters and aggressively went after the corporate monster would be nice too. I agree with you in principle, it's just a matter of balance. For example, there has to be some middle ground between the Ford Pinto case on the one hand, and the McDonalds Hot Coffee incident on the other. FYI the McDonald's incident WAS a justified case. The woman was skalded by coffee that was FAR too hot. Look at the case files, the thermostat on the coffee maker was turned all the way up by a disgruntled employee. This was a deliberate act. Would you then say that an employer isn't responsible for the actions of their employees?(This wouldn't happen if corporate America wasn't such a bunch of bottom line cheap asses, trying to get their labor for nothing.) I don't know where you're getting your figures but the numbers of so called "frivilous" law suits that even got on the dockett, much, less reached a favorable verdict for the plantiff have declined drastically since Reagan and Bush senior changed the laws back in the 80's. Sounds to me your obsessing, and worst doing so on faliscious data. If it were up to me, I would implement an independent panel of intelligent laypersons to oversee court outcomes. This would be a kind of Stupid Judgments committee made up of people who know that coffee is hot, and that fatty foods make you fat. Actually such a panel already exists. It's staffed by members of the bar. Problem is it's seldom ever used for the benefit of the populace, only to remove judges who are far to left leaning. The fatty foods issue is a whole 'nother can of worms but with the FDA regulation either totally done away with or never enforced you could argue that one too.(The food and snack retailer are lieing their asses off in regards ro all the food/snack items they're claiming are "fat free" these days.) As for the government allowing lay persons in on the decision making, dream on. It'd take a bloody revolution. The judicial system in America is broken and needs to be replaced/revamped. This would only be effective if implemented by citizenry, NOT government officials.(And certainly not ANYONE from corporate America.) - Franc Zabkar |
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