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nader on edwards:
Nader Urges Kerry-Edwards Ticket to Strengthen
Rights of Citizens to Sue for Corporate Abuse
Washington, DC: Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who
urged Senator John Kerry to pick Senator John Edwards as his vice
president on June 22, today urged the Democratic ticket to speak out
against massive corporate lobbying efforts to weaken the right of
citizens to sue when they are injured by corporations who produce faulty
or dangerous products, put toxics in the environment, are injured by
medical malpractice and other corporate negligence. Corporations seek to
escape responsibility under the venerable common law for their wrongful
injuries to innocent people.
“There has been a consistent erosion of the citizen’s right to sue in
the civil justice system – one of the pillars of our democracy. With the
selection of Senator John Edwards the Democratic ticket now should have
an effective spokesperson for citizen’s rights in court,” said Nader.
“It is time for the Democrats to speak out and protect the rights of
consumers. Let’s hear from Senator Edwards a ringing affirmation of the
civil justice system and the civil jury which our forefathers forged so
valiantly or at the founding of our Republic.”
Nader went on to describe the importance of the civil justice system:
“When the rights of injured consumers are vindicated in court, our
society benefits in countless ways. Injured victims and shattered
families are compensated and for unspeakable losses (and saving
taxpayers from having to assist them). Future injuries are prevented by
removing dangerous products and practices from the marketplace and
spurring safety innovation. Evidence in court leads to safety standards
being issued for products that have caused injury. The public is
educated about unnecessary and unacceptable risks associated with some
products and services through disclosure of facts discovered during
trial. And, civil litigation provides authoritative judicial forums for
the ethical growth of law where the responsibility of perpetrators of
trauma and disease can be established. This authoritative expansion of
respect for human life serves to distinguish our country from most other
nations.”
The data show that around the country machines break and chemicals burn
their victims and the cost of the casualty count in the workplace and
marketplace runs into the billions of dollars annually. In addition, at
least 80,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical malpractice
in hospitals alone according to a study by physicians at the Harvard
School of Public Health. More die in a given year as a result of medical
malpractice than from motor vehicle accidents (43,458), breast cancer
(42,297) or AIDS (16,516). Yet eight times as many patients are injured
by medical malpractice as ever file a claim; 16 times as many suffer
injuries as receive any compensation. Indeed, very few injured Americans
file lawsuits. Overall, only 10 percent of injured Americans ever file a
claim for compensation, which includes informal demands and insurance
claims.
Tort deform legislation that has been proposed in Congress and in state
legislatures around the country over the last 20 years weakens the civil
justice system. “Tort reform ties the hands of our courts -- both judges
and juries -- by legislators who never see, hear or evaluate the
evidence in each specific case, thus undermining our uniquely
individualized system of justice. Judges and jurors are free from the
influence of corporate lobbyists and fund legislators who then press to
weaken the people’s right to their day in court,” said Nader. “Under
tort deform, the most severely injured or disease-afflicted Americans —
seniors in nursing homes, quadriplegic workers or brain-damaged children
who suffer most and suffer for a lifetime — are prohibited from
obtaining fair compensation for their injuries and are unable to hold
the perpetrators of their harm accountable. Indeed, tort deform laws
take away the rights of 99 percent of the people who live in this
country, while letting a handful of corporations escape accountability
for reckless misconduct that causes injury and death and of course
corporations remain unfettered in their power to sue others.”
“While I have differences with Senator Edwards on many issues – the Iraq
War and Patriot Act among them, I recognize his selection because he is
capable, if he chooses, of standing up to the corporate lobbyists who
bankroll legislators to block the citizen’s right to sue,” concluded Nader.
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