American Civil Justice System

It seems like there’s not a month that goes by that the American Civil Justice System is not under attack. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense because the American lawyer who practices in the American Civil Justice System is oftentimes the only voice that the people have to make sure that products are safe, that laws are enforced, that one’s property is protected and people are compensated when bankers, hospitals, doctors, trucking companies, nursing homes and others cause irreparable harm or death through their negligent acts. Truly when analyzing the American Justice System and looking at only one small segment, take the auto industry and automobile safety, you come to realize that the American trial lawyer has been responsible for seeing to it that seatbelts and airbags were placed in automobiles - that cars were designed to crush in such a way so as to avoid needlessly hurting the occupants in auto impacts, that gas tanks were placed appropriately so occupants would not be burned to death in automobile collisions.  Automobile roofs have been made stronger so as to reduce the number of people that are seriously injured and killed when a vehicle rolls over during the course of a crash - that windshields and windows are made of glass that no longer breaks into pieces that can seriously injure and harm an occupant and that beams have been inserted on the sides of cars that lesson the danger to occupants from side crashes.

In addition to the safety features that most people know about, the public may not know that there have been problems with gas tanks. As a matter of fact, General Motors could have fixed its gas tanks for $8.40 per car; but calculated that paying for the 500 fatal accidents would cost them only $2.40 per car. What do you think it chose to do?  Unfortunately, several car manufacturers including General Motors and Ford, designed defective gas tank placement that resulted in fires and explosions from even minor collisions. As a result, gas tanks are now universally located within rigid frames thanks to the American lawyer and American Civil Justice System.

Continuing on with issues concerning automobiles, the Ford engineers some time ago identified a problem with its (paddle style) handles which allow doors to accidentally open in collisions.  Ford chose rather than to fix the design to cover up the problem until it was held accountable in our Civil Justice System.  Although, as above mentioned, we now have automobiles with airbags that work to protect occupants in frontal collisions, this was a longtime coming!  As a matter of fact, the manufacturers began developing airbag technology in the 1950s.  But for one reason or another, were extremely slow installing the airbags.  And unfortunately by 1988, some 38 years later, only two percent of the new cars manufactured in American came equipped with airbags.  Due to the Civil Justice System, Courts found that manufacturers knew their cars were safer with airbags and many lives could have been saved had they been included.  Favorable verdicts were entered and eventually, and fortunately for the consumer, manufacturers were forced to install airbags in all cars.  Perhaps one of the most important items on any car is the tires.  Unfortunately, tire manufacturers from Firestone to Goodyear tried to cover up problems with defective tires and because of that have been held accountable in our United States’ Courts.  The Firestone defective tires caused over 270 deaths and the resulting litigation forced upon Firestone brought tires and their manufacturers under increased scrutiny.  Tires are now much safer than even 10 years ago!

Seats are also a safety issue in an automobile.  I, myself, brought a Honda seat collapse case to trial in Ohio County, W.Va., Strope v. Honda.  You see, General Motors was not the only automobile manufacturer that had a problem with the seats that were put into cars.  The Japanese manufacturers also had the same problem and Judy Strope unfortunately was the victim of a seatback collapsing and a seatbelt not working that lead to her death.  Fortunately, a jury in Ohio County, W.Va., found Honda responsible for the injuries and death and returned a multi-million dollar verdict that has played a role in forcing automobile manufacturers to beef up their weak seats!  Continuing on with automobile safety concerns, many of you may remember the ignition switch issues that led to serious injuries and death.  As early as 2001, General Motors knew their ignition switches used in its cars were defectively designed and could allow the ignition to slip from the run position to the accessory position while the car was in motion causing the engine to lose power and leave the driver unable to accurately steer or brake. General Motors, as a result of civil litigation, was forced to recall more than 2.6 million cars in an effort to try to fix this problem.

Of course, as alluded to earlier, one of the most famous and most outrageous situations involved the Ford Pinto. The Ford Pinto became one of the most notorious examples of a corporation putting profits ahead of safety after court cases highlighted a design flaw that left the gas tank unprotected resulting in explosions even in minor rear end accidents.  Litigation by the American trial lawyer revealed that Ford knew of the design problem and determined it could be fixed for as little as $11.00 per car but calculated it would be more profitable to sell the car as is allowing occupants to burn to death.

Incredibly, the Pinto’s design and the seat in the Strope case met all government standards at that time and had the compliance with Federal Standards been a complete defense as those in the auto industry advocated, Ford could not have been held responsible for the many victims that the companies anticipated.  It was the American lawyer, through the American Justice System, that spurred the adoption requirements for fuel tank performances in rear end collisions and stronger seat backs that has saved countless deaths and injuries.

As you can see, we need a strong Civil Justice System, and my law firm, by fighting for justice for people injured because of bad tires, poorly designed fuel tank caps that led to five deaths, poorly designed roofs that caused occupants to die, seat belts and defective seats and a host of other product issues, has helped bring about the much needed safety measures to better automobile safety!