Civil Courts Work For Citizens

When a corporation, insurance company or health care provider harms or kills a person by acting irresponsibly, deceitfully or negligently, reasonable people believe those entities should be held accountable and that those who have been wronged deserve justice.

But deep-pocket special interests aren’t always willing to do the right thing by paying fair compensation and correcting their dangerous ways. Too often, the bottom line and profits are the primary consideration, regardless of the consequences.

Headlines are dominated with examples of corporations letting profits trump basic consumer protections: massive car recalls, food recalls, serious safety issues with prescription and over-the-counter drugs and financial institutions in trouble.

From each of these headlines, three messages surface: corporations knowingly put profits ahead of public safety; federal agencies lack the resources to adequately protect and safeguard the American people; and when the first lines of defense fail to protect the safety of consumers, only the civil justice system can hold negligent corporations accountable and restore justice.

Many don’t know what the civil justice system is, or why it is important.  Each American has the constitutionally protected right to hold those who harm them responsible, whether it be another person or a large corporation.  We are afforded this right in a civil court.  However, front groups who are funded by big oil, big tobacco, pharmaceutical companies and the insurance industry are out to change that.

Our civil justice system is constantly under attack from these front groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – not to be confused with your local Chamber of Commerce – and its Illinois mouthpiece, Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch.  These types of groups are out to take away your constitutionally protected rights.  Why?  Because to these corporate special interests, profits are more important than the health and safety of the American public.

It’s no wonder tobacco, big oil, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies have invested so much in groups – such as Illinois Lawsuit Abuse Watch – to demonize the civil justice system.  Without it, these powerful corporations would have free reign to make and break the rules.  That’s why it’s imperative that we speak up against these groups.

These groups will compare Illinois to its Midwestern neighbors, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  We all know the story in Wisconsin, where that state’s governor has taken away rights from average citizens to benefit his big business buddies.   Minnesota’s legislature attempted to do the same thing, but the governor there vetoed the so-called lawsuit reforms calling it a “partisan political ploy” aimed to “reduce the rights of law abiding citizens and businesses to seek justice from the wrongdoing of others.”  Similar legislation appears every spring at the statehouse in Illinois, but our lawmakers are wise to the real intent of such legislation.

The reality is there is no lawsuit abuse in Illinois.  Our justice system screens out the very few suits that are filed without merit. Those who attack our civil justice system know that most litigation involves businesses suing other businesses or individuals, not individuals taking companies to court. What these front groups and their corporate sponsors do fear are meritorious lawsuits – actions brought by citizens against those producing unsafe products, polluting our environment, swindling their employees to pad profits, or otherwise acting irresponsibly.

There is no negative correlation between our state’s economy and the civil justice system. Illinoisans should be proud that our court system protects us from dangerous products and negligent behavior and holds corporate wrongdoers accountable.  The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association believes in and fights for our system of checks and balances.  No person, government official or business should be allowed to amass so much power and influence that they are able to infringe upon the right of citizens to have their day in court.

by Jerry A. Latherow, ILTA President

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