Action Needed! * Trial lawyers assault on student activities * Manufacturers to mayors: stand up against baseless litigation * NFL lawyers say widespread fraud hampering concussion settlement * In the News
Action Needed to Save Long-Term Care In Pennsylvania
Any time now the Pennsylvania House could take up legislation needed to protect nursing homes and long term care facilities from predatory, out of state attorneys.
House Bill 1037, PN 1201, limits punitive damages to 250% of the amount of compensatory damages awarded against long-term care providers. Skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes and assisted living residences throughout the Commonwealth would be protected under this bill in almost the same way that physicians have been since 2002.
Today, the Commonwealth’s nursing homes are desperately in need of legal reform. Nursing homes currently settle virtually 100% of cases brought against them by predatory out-of-state lawyers for fear of out-of-control punitive damage awards. Punitive damage reform is crucial if Pennsylvania’s long-term care providers are to continue to provide quality care to our most vulnerable citizens.
Excessive punitive damage awards result in less money to spend on patient care, higher consumer costs, and decreased availability of services. Medicaid funding is depleted by punitive damages, which impacts Pennsylvania’s taxpayers.
Nothing in HB 1037 will prevent an injured patient from recovering 100% of the compensatory damages they are due for any injuries! Punitive damages are only intended to punish defendants, not compensate victims.
Call your House member and ask that they support House Bill 1037, PN 1201 without amendment when it is considered by the House of Representatives. You can find legislative contact information here.
Thank you for being part of our efforts to bring commonsense to our courts and laws!
Trial Lawyers Continue Assault on Student Activities Across Pennsylvania
Harrisburg- Today, the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) called out yet another blatant example of trial lawyers gone wild in Pennsylvania. According to a June 11, 2018 radio report on WCHE 1520 AM, the West Chester School District cancelled the Pierce Middle School’s annual field trip to Cape Henlopen, Delaware. The trip was cancelled because the District Superintendent, Dr. James Scanlon stated: “From a management standpoint, it is a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
Read the complete story here.
Manufacturers to Mayors: Stand Up Against Trend of Baseless Litigation
The Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP) joined 26 state manufacturing groups in delivering a strong message to the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) encouraging mayors across the country to stand up against trial attorneys and politicians who seek to punish the job creators and energy providers that their citizens rely on through involvement in baseless public nuisance lawsuits targeting manufacturers.
The groups delivered a joint letter raising the issue ahead of the 86th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Boston, Massachusetts, in response to this growing trend. The organizations asked the USCM “to consider how these cases have affected your courtrooms and constituents, and whether steps can be taken to establish guidelines for how mayors should engage on such matters.”
“Mayors are signing their names to lawsuits that will do more to undermine the resurgence of the manufacturing sector than to address the issues they intend to solve through the courts. Manufacturers are standing up today to highlight this concerning trend of litigation,” said Lindsey de la Torre, Executive Director of the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project.
The MAP is an arm of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and charged with setting the record straight and highlighting the concerted, coordinated campaign being waged by plaintiffs’ lawyers, public officials, deep-pocketed foundations and other activists who have sought to undermine and weaken manufacturers in the United States. This campaign will pull back the curtain to expose these efforts and to hold key actors accountable in order to protect our members and American manufacturing workers. The MAP is a project of the NAM’s Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action (MCLA), which serves as the leading voice of manufacturers in the nation’s courts. mfgaccountabilityproject.org.
NFL lawyers: ‘Widespread fraud’ hampering concussion settlement
Chris Palmer| Philly.com| May 20, 2018
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported on concerns expressed by attorneys for the National Football League that its program to compensate former players for long-term effects of head injuries has been “hampered by the extraordinary number of fraudulent claims clogging the system.”
In the news article, “lawyers for the league reported that 46 percent of the 2,000 or so total claims submitted had been placed into audit due to “red flags or other signs of potential fraud.” Attorneys for the NFL have filed a complaint in federal court. Oral arguments took place in late May. The hearing was argued before U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia. Read more.
In the News
Tort reform leads to better care| After malpractice caps, doctors ordered fewer invasive tests to diagnose heart attacks | STAT
Fix in the Works| Small businesses hurt by rising premiums due to PA Supreme Court Decision | NFIB
Legal hot water| Country Time to Cover Kids’ ‘Illegal’ Lemonade Stands | US News and World Report
PA still a top lawsuit tourism destination| No quit in trial bar after SCOTUS ruling, still filing lawsuits in favorite courts | Legal NewsLine