A Civil Justice System Under Siege, Part 1

Large corporations and right-wing extremists attacked the rights of Americans to receive compensation for injuries sustained at the hands of others.  Given the influence of money in the executive and legislative branches of government, courts are one of the few places left where Americans can take on powerhouses, such as manufacturers and insurance companies.  These entities favor what is misleadingly called tort “reform,” spending millions of dollars to change the justice system, making it easier for them to escape accountability.

Those who want tort “reform” bend the truth to criticize those who seek justice, the injured, their lawyers, and jurors who make awards.  They hope these attacks will incite politicians and courts to curb awards and perhaps poison the minds of jurors who sit on such cases.  With no knowledge of facts they denigrate large awards as “windfalls,” handed out by “jackpot juries” under the sway of “greedy trial lawyers.”

The truth is that jurors may tend to be suspicious of claimants and are more conservative than most judges would be in the same case.  In most states, including Washington, civil cases are tried in front of a judge unless one party requests a jury.  In almost every case, the defense or its insurance company demands a jury trial.  That makes one wonder, if the “jackpot jury” is nothing more than a fabrication manufactured to influence lawmakers.