Motormouth Online

Let's face it, problems in the collapse of the auto industry and impending collapse of the health industry do not come from one single scapegoat. Almost every interest group associated with the American auto industry must accept some blame and therefore must be part of the solution.

• Did unions fail by demanding that their workers get paid 90% of their salaries even when they were not working?
  
• Did management fail by building a bureaucracy that couldn't rapidly respond to market trends?
  
• Were investors short sighted in their demand and expectations from the company?
  
• Did the market give lip service to safety, environmental and economy standards while continuing to purchase high-horsepower mega-sized truck-based SUV's for commuting from the burbs?
  

Sure they all were at fault. But one group that escaped scrutiny in both the automotive and health industry debate was the role of the personal injury attorney.

I am not unaware of the suffering caused by auto accidents. In addition to the 40,000 fatalities every year on American roads, the suffering and hardships of those injured and their families are often exacerbated by negligent faulty designs. However, greedy and opportunistic Personal Injury attorneys do little to help the problem. I have witnessed how manufacturers refuse to change a faulty design for fear that change would be an admission of guilt, opening them up to even greater legal liability for the previous design.

Automotive design continues to evolve, but the push for safer automobiles should come from consumer demand and active government regulations rather than punitive awards.

Product liability cases remain a legal lottery where few consumers benefit but many attorneys get wealthy. In the end, the cost is always passed on in the prices of future products.