March 2014

Access To Justice For Service Members

When our service members are deployed they should not have to worry about burdens at home, such as losing their jobs or suffering abuses and frauds by financial service providers. Although several federal laws exist to protect them, including the Service member Civil Relief Act (SCRA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), and the Military Lending Act (MLA), an alarming number of our service members come home to discover that they are unable to enforce these rights because of legal maneuvering that allows corporations to evade these laws. 

VIDEO: MSNBC's Chris Hayes Discusses GM's Fallout

How much can a corporation get away with? That's the question MSNBC's Chris Hayes asks in response to the fallout surrounding General Motors. 


Forced Arbitration Penalty On Oakland Raiders

On NFL Sundays, penalties and mistakes could potentially cost your favorite team a win. 

For the Oakland Raiders, a franchise that has been a non-factor in the NFL for the past 10 years, they’re not only making mistakes on the field of play, but also violating established employment laws. 



VIDEO: Linda Reinstein Sounds Off on TSCA Reform

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on the draft legislation “Chemicals in Commerce Act.” In short, the bill would eliminate federal regulations and state laws that protect citizens from toxic chemicals and grants immunity to the chemical industry when they poison and kill Americans.

Where’s the accountability?

House Committee To Hold Hearing on Poisonous TSCA Reform Bill

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a hearing on draft legislation entitled the “Chemicals in Commerce Act” which would eviscerate public health safeguards, eliminate state laws that protect citizens from toxins and grant immunity to the chemical industry when it poisons and kills Americans. 

Generic Drug Threatens Life, Education Dreams

Generic drugs have provided low cost prescription drugs to consumers, but they also can also have dangerous consequences because patients who take generics inadvertently give up their right to justice.

That’s exactly what Sophie experienced. While in college working on her Environmental Studies degree, she began taking two generic drugs prescribed to help clear her complexion. However, instead of a clear skin, Sophie experienced multiple pulmonary emboli, serious blood clots in the lungs, and almost died. 

AAJ CEO Discusses Malpractice Caps With Mike Papantonio

American Association for Justice CEO Linda Lipsen was recently a guest on the Ring of Fire Show with Mike Papantonio to discuss how malpractice caps, specifically California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), harm patients. 

Preventable medical errors kill up to 444,000 people every year. This is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and carries a $29 billion a year price tag for taxpayers.

Despite this serious epidemic, corporate front groups have been working hard in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures throughout the country to limit accountability and access to the civil justice system when patients are harmed or killed by medical errors.