A very good friend’s father worked at the Chevy plant on Union Boulevard in St. Louis. Most of that time he made Corvettes, sanding and grinding the fiberglass bodies. A bit after he retired he developed mesothelioma, an awful cancer linked—after several years of court cases – to asbestos exposure. He fought with dignity, lasting several years longer than most with that cancer. Still, his death came slow and hard.
Money does not offset never meeting all his grandchildren but it is how the books get balanced. Court cases create accountability and can offer everyday people a portion of recompense.
Yes, the media loves to cover huge court verdicts to families who lost a loved one to talc-induced cancer or faulty medical equipment. But those situations are extremely rare. And, in most all of the super verdicts, the jury is punishing the corporation not for the injury to one person so much as for covering-up a known risk. My friend’s dad didn’t know that asbestos was deadly: the people who sold the product to Chevrolet did it. [ http://www.usaep.org/asbestos/industry-cover-ups/ Yes, this is from a law firm site but the dates and facts check-out.]
Take a look at court records on lawsuits and you’ll find that most result in just a bit of money more than the hard damages – such as car and people repairs. The courts act like an assembly line, workman-like but not usually generous. Filing a lawsuit is not buying a winning lottery ticket.
This session the Missouri Legislature is passing – and Governor SEAL will sign – about two handfuls of new laws designed to make the state’s courts less consumer friendly. Bills to restrict who may qualify as an expert witness (House Bill 153), lower the calculation of actual damages (HB95), limiting access to courts (HB 462 and friends), limit product liability (HB 459), and control punitive damages (HB 890) have all been reported “do pass” or better by House committees. In the Senate similar bills and other topics – including protecting hospitals from liability for mistakes or malpractice by doctors made in their facility with their employees involved (Senate Bill 237) – have their sights set on passage.
Even that is not enough: several legislators want to abandon the “Missouri Plan” for non-partisan appointments to higher courts in the state. [ http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-senate-leader-seeks-overhaul-of-judge-selection-process/article_cd3322bb-de15-57b6-b314-17411a0265e1.html ] They would replace the Bar Association vetting potential judges with elections where every candidate had an “R” or “D” behind their name. In other words, big business could contribute to state appeals court and supreme court members with a pro-business bias.
Why?
Well, the same philosophy demanding Right To Work, striking down prevailing wage, preventing cities from raising their local minimum wage and a score of other changes this session extends to courts too. The majority in this legislature, and the boy toy governor, seek to enhance the wealth of the moneyed and protect corporations at the expense of workers and everyday Missourians.
Alas, bills on court rules don’t fill Capitol hallways with Teamsters and nuns. And it takes more than a 10 second sound bite to explain the “collateral source rule,” much less tell why the changes will mean injured people will get less recovery for their suffering.
The bottom line is simple. Missouri is not a “judicial hellhole,” that’s just trendy to say. In one more area of everyday life the deck is getting stacked against the average Missourian. That’s our reality in 2017.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member