Hot coffee provides a window into what the relationship between government, big businesses, and the local citizens all have in daily life. Critics suggest that the case, Hot Coffee, was a showcase of how citizens have used the American legal system for their advantage while others state that it’s a classic tort reform case. In short, a 79-year-old woman bought some coffee that ended up being spilled on her which caused a severe burn on a portion of her body. She was awarded a significant amount of money for her damages and medical expenses etc. I honestly didn’t believe that spilled coffee would create such a huge medical issue but with the actual picture of the damage she had is what really set it for me that a cup of coffee could actually do damage to that extent.
What is Tort Reform?
Tort reform a law that is based upon each state basis in which it provides the type of damages amount that may or may not be awarded within personal injury lawsuits limits the plaintiff’s ability to recover compensation. For example, on noneconomic loss damages cap would ensure that a physician of his/hers’ will relieve him/her of malpractice costs (Finley, 2004). There are challenges where in tort reform the injured party has a set time limit to where he/she can file a suit for their injuries which can cause more financial issues for the injured party due to the lawyer fee(s), and getting a trail date in that time zone.
Do you Agree or Disagree with Tort Reform?
I agree with tort reform to an extent, due to when someone gets injured, they will want to seek more then what is allowed due to emotions getting the best of them, for example, if someone is in a civil lawsuit and they are seeking for the rest of what they are due from a loan, they can request for what is left and interest etc. Thus, leaving it to the judge to determine if interest is needed or is just out of spite to the other party being sued. Moreover, having a limitation to what one may receive will save the party that is being sued from getting a financial deficit from one lawsuit. The only thing that can be seen as a nuisance is the time frame of ones injury may be filed for a lawsuit, it’s a 50/50 type of response due to the statute of limitations to file a suit is at least a year after their injury but they should be able to file in a maximum three year span of the injury occurring depending on the injury that occurred if it’s severe.
Does Your Home State Have Any Types of Tort Reform Enacted?
The state of Texas was once considered the “Judicial Hellholes” by American Medical Association and was put as critical but in 2005 they (American Medical Association) removed Texas from the list of states in crisis. Texas so far is the only state to be removed from their list. The state of Texas has a bill that was signed on June 11, 2003, by the governor. This bill has a total of 374 amendments over a length of 650 pages (Joseph Nixon, 2013).
What Are Some of the Challenges a Plaintiff Faces in Filing a Civil Action for Damages Against a Large Corporation?
The challenges that can be faced is the legal aspect that the larger corporations have to protect themselves, that statute of limitations, funding’s and evidence, understanding the entire case.
For example, in a case found upon Nexis Uni case Levine v. Wyeth Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137512 (Florida Dist. Ct. 2009), a plaintiff went about suing a major drug company called Actavis INC. the use of their drug metoclopramide caused abnormal movements linked to that particular drug. The plaintiff sued the big company for 5-Count Complaint of negligence per se due to the product label and package insert for the drug was misleading. Actavis claimed due to federal law each product must have the same exact label. In the end, the plaintiff prevails with his case as the ruling stands, that Actavis Inc.’s lost their case.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Judicial Elections?
The advantages of judicial elections are that citizens can choose, likely known within the location, cleaner than appointments, public trust more. Whereas the disadvantages of judicial elections are that possible partisan politics interfering, lack of accurate information available, contribution influence, (College, n.d.)
Are Judges in Your Home State-Appointed or Elected?
Judges were appointed in the beginning when the state of Texas became a state in 1845 by the Governor with senate consent but later on by 1876, judges at all levels are now elected by the people in partisan elections (NCSC, 2020).
How Does One Become a State Judge in Your Home State?
Each candidate has to meet the following requirements a U.S. citizen; a resident of Texas; licensed to practice law in the state; between the age(s) 35 to 75; a practicing lawyer/judge for atheist 10 years. If he or she has that then the judge has to go through a partisan election at each level of court. At each court level, their term lengths vary but at the end of their term, they must re-run for their position again (Judicial Selection in Texas, 2020).
