What is Tort Reform?

Personal injury cases involve a dispute regarding financial damages. Plaintiffs seek damages against defendants in a variety of situations, such as when doctors have failed to perform their duties effectively. Many times in the past, plaintiffs have won.

There are times, however, when people file lawsuits for reasons of questionable merit. For example, someone once sued McDonalds because she got burned by the hot coffee she was served there. Other cases of questionable merit often involve claims of emotional stress and distress caused by things usually considered trivial, like being in the background of a picture.

Many of these seemingly silly cases have led to plaintiffs being awarded large sums of money. Because of the apparent silliness of the claims as well as the large financial awards, many people feel that the types of lawsuits that people can file should be limited by certain qualifications and the damages that people can seek should also be limited. It is these two goals that form the broad contours of tort reform.

Tort reform is a contentious issue in the United States. Republicans have tended to support tort reform because silly lawsuits place undue financial burdens on businesses, who are usually the defendants in large civil cases. Democrats, on the other hand, oppose tort reform because plaintiffs in large civil cases are usually Democrat supporters. For this reason , tort reform is an extremely politicized issue.

Although Republicans have made some progress in implementing tort reform, their goals have by no means been met in their entirety. People still have wide rights to sue parties for damages.

Speak with a Waukesha Personal Injury Lawyer

If you feel that you have been injured by another party, you have a right to sue. Because tort reform has not yet widely been implemented, plaintiff’s rights are still supported. To find out about the strength of your case, contact the Waukesha personal injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C. by calling 1-800-242-2874.