... and Justice for All

"Get Out of Jail" Free Cards For Corporations -- American Association for Justice Details Undermining of Family and Consumer Protections

The American Association for Justice has released a report, Get Out of Jail Free: How the Bush Administration Helps Corporations Escape Accountability, detailing the systematic and widespread undermining of family and consumer protections by Bush Administration agencies and political appointees.  Through documents and emails obtained via the Freedom Of Information Act the AAJ report traces the evolution and development of a federal preemption strategy, a legal doctrine by which state law protections for families and consumers are eliminated or "preempted" by federal regulations that insulate corporations from liability, accountability and responsibility for their defective products.

Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com

Drop Side Crib Recall

Following the death of one child and harrowing incidents involving others the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today the recall of about 600,000 drop side cribs manufactured by Delta Enterprise Corp.  The drop side of the defective cribs can detach when its spring peg is not engaged.  Further and detailed information can be obtained at the CPSC website by clicking here.

Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com

Increased Efforts To Prevent Injured Families From Holding Corporations Accountable

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Bush Administration, as it winds down amidst the meltdown of our national economy causing the loss of some $2 trillion of Americans' retirement savings and the faltering wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, is moving aggressively to erect further bars preventing injured families from holding accountable the corporations responsible.  See "Bush Rule Changes Could Block Product-Safety Suits."  The latest instance of lawsuit-protection language for corporations that have harmed and injured American families is a rule announced Oct. 8 that establishes a limit on the number of seat belts car manufacturers can be required to install and prevents lawsuits by injured persons who were unable to be protected by a seat belt.  This is the latest installment of the Bush Administration's efforts to insulate corporations from responsibility, accountability and liability for their wrongful actions through the legal doctrine of "preemption."  The Bush Administration has wholly abandoned long-standing rules and practices to aid and protect American families in favor of rewarding the corporate interests that it serves.  Unlike the $750 billion bailout for the financial services industry that American families were recently touched upon to fund, the preemption bailout goes on by stealth and largely unnoticed.  Both achieve the same result: shifting to American families the burdens created by irresponsible and wrongful corporate actions.  

Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com 

Fen-Phen Flim-Flam: Don't Be A Victim Of Lawyer Advertising

Surely one lesson from the Fen-Phen case debacle is how utterly unhelpful lawyer advertising is as a way for the average person, who probably has no prior involvement at all with the legal system, to find a lawyer to help them. For years here in Central Kentucky we were regaled with colorful television ads that urged us to “Call the Man.” Apparently, many did including a few hundred that were injured by the Fen-Phen diet drug. During the recent Fen-Phen criminal trial, however, we learned that “the Man” they called was so incoherently drunk in the early A.M. hours that he could not understand, at least according to the jury’s verdict, the circumstances by which he was collecting some many millions in attorneys fees. 

It doesn’t take that much to participate in a federal criminal conspiracy: only knowledge of a criminal purpose and something (an overt act) done in furtherance of the conspiracy’s purpose. But putting aside issues of criminal conspiracy, one can fairly wonder exactly what legal services were provided to justify any fee.

But all that begs the question of what is an individual to do when they or a family member has suffered some serious personal injury and they need to find a qualified lawyer to represent them. Looking at the Yellow Pages isn’t going to provide much help, although it is a place to start. Most of the ads all say about the same thing: something to the effect that the lawyer will rip the flesh off somebody while representing you and/or they handle a variety of types of cases.  All that’s good and well but how are you to have any idea as to whether the lawyer is smart and capable and experienced.  Most consumers have no idea how to go about making this type of assessment. 

So here are some helpful tips:

• Ask a lawyer that you know for a referral. He or she will likely know somebody who handles the type of case you have. If you don’t know any lawyers, go to www.lawyers.com and start ther

• The phone book actually can be a good place to start but keep in mind that not all lawyers advertise in the Yellow Pages.

• Meet with and interview a number of attorneys. Ask each one who else in town handles your type of case. If they won’t give you any names, get up and leave.

• Ask each lawyer to explain to you why it is they think you have a case. You should be able to understand the explanation; if you can’t, ask yourself how the lawyer is going to be able to make a jury, which will be made of people just like you, understand it. Of course, keep in mind at the beginning of a case the lawyer may not know all the facts that will prove important but they should be able to give you an informed outline of how they would anticipate your case moving forward.

• Ask each lawyer if they have any information to provide you such as a website or other materials that you can review on your own time to find out more about your type of case, their qualifications, and experience.

• Ask the lawyer if they will handle your case or if somebody else in their office will.

• Find out how the lawyer will keep you informed about the progress of a case. You should understand how you can expect your case to move forward, what events will take place and what a general time frame may be.

Don’t be a victim of a Fen-Phen flim-flam.  When you or your family are faced with a serious injury or other serious legal situation, finding and hiring a good lawyer to represent you is very important. I hope this will help anyone facing this difficult situation make a good choice. 

Robert L. Abell
www.RobertAbellLaw.com