Attorney to Tell Wisconsin Trial Lawyers: “We Can’t Rely on Government Watchdogs” – Public News Service
By Tim Morrissey, Public News Service – WI
Don’t look for the government to protect us when faulty products threaten lives. That’s the message trial lawyers gathering in Milwaukee this week will hear from trial lawyer Lance Cooper of Atlanta. Although government watchdog agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are staffed with well-intentioned and well-qualified people, Cooper said, they’re usually underfunded and more often than not at the mercy of the manufacturers.
Cooper, who successfully sued General Motors on behalf of a client who was killed because of a faulty ignition switch, said the civil jury system is critical to obtaining justice. “Just over the past 3 or 4 years with the Toyota sudden-acceleration problem, of course the GM ignition switch problem, and now the Takata air bag problem,” he said, “these are all problems that were reported to the federal government but it took civil litigation to bring those cases and those problems to the forefront.” –