by Kenneth Campbell Charles wrote:
>You are probably aware that many juries ( composed largely >on North American workers) have given such high awards >often that the rightwing has been carrying out tort >"reform" for a while, whereby caps are put on the amounts. It was my understanding that many of these awards are severely reduced on the appellate level... which does not involved juries (hence people outside the law). ^^^^^^ CB: Yes, appeals court judges, and in Michigan the legislature, led by insurance companies , using the trial lawyers (not the victims obviously) as the marketing target, changed the statutes to cap awards. ^^^^ There is a buffer there, too, no? ^^^^^^ CB: Sorry, the appeals courts are a buffer , you mean ? ^^^^^ (But you are right about the political agenda behind removing in the initial awards.) >Left wing lawyers (Maurice Sugar and others) played a big >role in developing products liability law. I do not currently know the development of product liability law. I would imagine it came out of the early 1900s in the US. If you have any more research, I would appreciate it. It would be helpful to put it in context. ^^^^^ CB: Yes, early 1900's exactly, with the rise of the automobile, as I was taught in law school. I don't have any specific research myself. However, products liability is a standard category in tort law, so if you put the term in search engine , there would be tons of stuff.
