Tampa Bay Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective & Dangerous Products - Latest Comments

A comment on New Bill Proposes to End Foreign Manufacturer Tort Liability Loopholes

JB Bannister — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:53:39 GMT

This will be great for the plantiffs. This was to much of a burden for the plantiffs in the past.

A comment on Baseball's Maple Bat Controversy - Does Someone Have to Die?

Matthew Leeth — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:30:36 GMT

Thanks for the comment Mike. Some people believe that the exploding bats are just "part of the game," like a foul ball. That's hogwash though.

At the other extreme, more and more analysts agree they should give up wood bats all together and adopt comparable aluminum bats. I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do, but it's something to consider.

A comment on Baseball's Maple Bat Controversy - Does Someone Have to Die?

Mike Bryant — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:31:23 GMT

I remember when soon to be HOF Jim Rice had his bat split and it hit a little kid in the left side little section that juts out at Fenway. With this maple hazard, seems like it really doesn't make sense. Interesting article.

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Michael Bennett — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:57:16 GMT

...and this from SOURCEWATCH:

"On its website ATRA does not include a full list of members but provides only a "sample" list of members. These members, as of Match 2008, were:"

"3M Company
Altria Corporate Services/*Kraft Foods
ASFE
Advance Medical Technology Association
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Blood Centers
American Chemistry Council
American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
American College of Surgeons
American Council of Engineering Companies
American Furniture Warehouse
American Health Care Association
American Institute of Architects
American Legislative Exchange Council
American Medical Association
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Anheuser Busch Companies
Associated Wire Rope Fabricators
Baxter
Boeing
Bunn Brothers Ltd
Caterpillar
City of New York Law Department
Cooper Industries
Court Security Systems
CSX Transportation
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Defense Research Institute
Delmar Emergency Specialists
DeWald Northwest Company
diaDexus, Inc.
Doctor's Company
Erickson Retirement Communities
Harleysville Insurance Companies
Juvenile Products Manufacturers
Johnson & Johnson
Kenyon Plastering, Inc.
Koch Industries
Lovell Safety Management Co.
Manhattan Orthopaedics, PC
NCH Corporation
National Association of Home Builders
National Federation of Independent Businesses
National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation
New York Blood Centers
New York Life Insurance
Nexcare Heathcare Systems LLC
PPM Services
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Pfizer
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
Physician Insurers Association of America
Rio Grande Valley Chamber
Roller Skating Association, Intl.
Scandia Family Fun Center
SeamCraft
Small Aircraft Manufacturers Association
SnowSports Industries America
State Farm
Taussig Corporation
TRW Automotive
Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America
Wyeth
Z-World Inc."

More ...

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Michael Bennett — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 19:43:38 GMT

Here are a few quotes from, and a link to, an enlightening article on Tort "Reform", ATRA, and more:

"The AMA and the American Council of Engineering Companies are co-founders of the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA), which has turned into an umbrella group of special interests and "astroturf organizations pushing for tort reform legislation. The ties of "tort reform" to the Right, via Karl Rove, are legendary."

furher...

"Take, for example, the organization Citizens for Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), which has chapters in several states actively pushing "tort reform" to state legislatures. According to SourceWatch, CALA is an astroturf organization commissioned by the Philip Morris tobacco company in 1995, and Philip Morris continues to fund and direct CALA through ATRA. SourceWatch says,"

and...

"A "privileged and confidential" Philip Morris (PM) tort reform budget from 1995 shows that PM spent over $16 million to instigate tort reform during that year alone, and that PM paid an international public relations firm called APCO & Associates (now known as APCO Worldwide) almost $1 million in 1995 to implement tort reform efforts behind the scenes."

More ...

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Darren McKinney — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:18:27 GMT

If comparing one's intellectual or ideological opponents to Hitler isn't propaganda, I don't know what is. Furthermore, you ought to be more careful about publicly disparaging the intelligence of the American people, Mr. Bennett.

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Michael Bennett — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:12:07 GMT

"All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach."

~Adolf Hitler

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Darren McKinney — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:57:12 GMT

To be clear, Mr. Bennett, the GM and Chrysler pre-paks are less about protecting "huge corporations(s)," as you argue, and more about protecting the financial interests of union leaders and thus the political interests of the Obama administration and its congressional majority allies.

If the auto companies are forced to liquidate as opposed to reorganize (as Justice Ginsburg's stay now makes possible), tens of thousands of UAW jobs will be lost, countless communities throughout the Midwest will be devastated, and union bosses and many politicians will soon be looking for jobs.

So while you're free to delude yourelf or those who might actually take seriously your suggestion that it's the tort reformers who are out of touch with America, the clear reality -- borne out by poll after poll, year after year -- is that an overwhelming majority of our fellow citizens believe there are too many lawsuits in this country, not too few. And if trial lawyers weren't the pariahs that such polls and focus groups insist they are, why did the Association for Trial Lawyers of America feel forced to change its name to the euphemistic American Association for Justice two summers ago?

I'll grant you that the ATLA-to-AAJ name change was smart marketing, but let's not pretend it's anyhting more than that. By contrast, ATRA's name is truth in advertising at its plainest, and we have no plans to change it.

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Michael Bennett — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:37:25 GMT

McKinney's own comment refers to people with "plausible cases". In other words, the fact that the victims are due their day in court and are being denied that in order to protect the sale of GM by the bankruptcy judge, 'TOO BAD'.

Well, let's get something clear. Protecting a huge corporation at the expense of legitimate victims resembles nothing that this country was established upon and that decent people value. It is this fundamental point that defines the tort "reformers" and separates them from the rest of civilization.

And since the issue was raised, I do not "line my pockets" with money from fighting for victims. I'm a patient advocate who does this without compensation. As the director of communications for ATRA, which lines his pockets with corporate money, you'd think he would have known that.

A comment on Medical Device Liability Bill: Undoing Injustice

Darren McKinney — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:33:39 GMT

Please, Mr. Bennett. Cars don't very often crash on their own.Frequently enough, those so-called "victims" you use to line your pockets drove recklessly, fell asleep at the wheel or otherwise operated their vehicle under the influence. And if they didn't, then the driver of the other vehicle likely had.

In any case, not since the Pinto and Vega, anyway, do cars tend to blow up or otherwise cause serious injury absent a heaping helping of driver/human error. So sue the other driver and/or his insurer if you're habitually drawn to sue someone, but stop trying to make the automakers out to be the bad guy.

And besides, despite your huge campaign contributions, President Obama and this trial lawyer-loving Congress can't give you guys EVERYTHING you want. The compliant, left-wing media might actually start posing a few tough questions if they did.