Don't Believe The Hype: Corporations Value Lawsuits Too

Corporations have this mantra that gets repeated time and again: "Stop These Lawsuits!" You have certainly heard how "Trial Attorneys Are Ruining Our Economy!" Apparently I float in money and have fountain pens made of diamonds that spout gold tinted ink, simply because I’m a trial attorney who fights for the rights of injured people. Regardless, corporations want you to believe that lawsuits are destroying our economy because… well… they say so.

Because of this myth of lawsuits, corporations have pushed – and in some states very successfully – for "tort reform" that limits the rights of everyday Americans from having their day in court. Chances are you live in a state that has pushed these "reforms" at the request of corporate America that limits your ability to be fairly compensated when someone’s reckless actions harm you or your loved one.

There’s one major exception to the corporate myth of lawsuit-itis. That’s when it comes to the right of corporations being able to sue other corporations. Like AIG suing Bank of America for $10 Billion for reckless conduct. That’s OK. That kind of lawsuit won’t ruin economies of scale, it won’t affect jobs, and it won’t do anything bad. Why? Because it’s a corporation suing! That’s right folks. You can’t, but I can. The truth is lawsuits don’t ruin economies, they help to regulate conduct and to redress wrongs. I am not saying AIG doesn’t have the right to sue, but I’m saying that if they do, so does the widow of a man who died during surgery because of malpractice, or the man who has a shoulder injury in an auto accident that keeps him from lifting up his children or working at his job.

Even a child knows something is patently unfair when the adult says "you can’t do this" while the adult does that same thing in hypocritical fashion. Except the American public is not a bunch of children, they’re just being treated that way by Corporate America. It’s time this hypocrisy come to an end. The next time you hear someone tell you trial attorneys are ruining America, remember that corporations love to block all lawsuits, until it’s time for them to sue someone too.