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The Tennessee Consumer Protection is under assault, some say. Its advocates claim that this act protects the consumer from businesses and products that produce goods or services that can harm, even to the point of maiming and killing victims, through negligence or unscrupulous manufacturing and selling tactics.
A new bill has been introduced in Tennessee that would make it more difficult to litigate against companies on the grounds of injury and wrongful death caused by negligence or wrongful actions. The proponents of the bill claim it would make the state more business-friendly. The former senator from Tennessee, Fred Thompson, among others has shown opposition to the bill. They have seen instances of what can happen when a company acts without seeming regard for human life. Many of those who advocate against this bill also believe the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act will also be compromised to the point of uselessness should this bill pass. They tell Lawyers that victims would have no legal recourse to pursue the means to gain compensation for their injuries and losses.
Tort reformers are very interested in seeing this bill pass. According to them, “lawsuit abuse” and “jackpot justice” are very common in Tennessee. They fear businesses will not come and invest in Tennessee due to the stifling environment created by easy lawsuits which could very well ruin a small business. A group in Tennessee and others in The Bronx and Brooklyn offered a study that stated the bill would create more than 100,00 jobs and $16.2 billion in “additional economic output” in the state over the next ten year.
Tennessee and Kentucky currently have no limit on noneconomic damages or punitive damages. The bill would put limits upon pain and suffering damages at $750,000 per occurrence and punitive damages would be the greater of two times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000. However, in the case of “instances of spinal cord injury resulting in paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia, amputation, substantial burns and the death of a parent leaving minor children,” the cap could be as high as $1.25 million. It would also remove all limitation on damages “in instances when the defendant committed an act that would constitute a felony or was under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs at the time the injury occurred.”
Whatever the law, and whatever the state of the injury, everyone who suffers such needs someone to tell their side of the story, to make sure proper compensation is received. A NYC Spinal Injury Lawyer is just such a person. Make you and your loved ones are properly represented – call a NYC Spinal Injury Lawyer today.