Reform Facts

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
COMMUNITY HEROES BURDENED BY LIES, NOT LAWSUITS

Little League baseball threatened by lawsuits? The Girl Scouts dependent upon cookie sales to cover liability costs? Firefighters can't do their job out of fear of a lawsuit? These are just some of the myths corporate and insurance industry-backed legal "reform" groups are cynically exploiting. But careful scrutiny of the facts reveals a very different picture.

Play Ball
The claim that Little League is unduly burdened by lawsuits is unfounded. A search of the Lexis/Nexis database reveals only two cases in which people who filed tort or injury suits against Little League were compensated for injuries. Both cases were settled out of court.

The search exposed two other lawsuits against Little League -- neither of which was a tort claim.

• In 1992, a wheelchair-bound judge who coached a Little League team filed suit against the organization after he was barred from the field. Little League claimed that the wheelchair constituted a hazard to players. The outcome of this case was not available.
• In 1974, a girl and her parents charged that Little League's policy of excluding girls was unconstitutional. After the suit was filed, Little League publicly stated that it would immediately permit girls to register for its programs.

The Cookie Lie Crumbles
Whoever is responsible for perpetuating the ludicrous claim that the Girl Scouts must sell thousands upon thousands of boxes of cookies just to pay liability insurance has certainly earned a "de"-merit badge for this falsehood. The Girl Scouts have repeatedly denied they are burdened by lawsuits and even demanded that ads asserting otherwise be stopped.

After a Member of Congress invoked the Girl Scouts name in trumpeting "legal reform" in 1995, Sandra Jordan of the Washington, D.C., area Girl Scouts said such statements were misleading and the Scouts had no position on such legislation.

FIREFIGHTERS FIGHT FIRES, NOT "FRIVOLOUS" LAWSUITS
Firefighters afraid to save lives because of liability fears? Don't tell that to the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, which in 1995 denounced this lie as a "disservice." Firefighters acting within the scope of their job are generally immune from lawsuits -- it's only egregious actions outside this scope, such as failing to rescue or committing a non-duty violation, that are and should be cause for alarm.

More significant are the numerous examples of firefighters exercising their legal right to hold manufacturers and other wrongdoers that endanger their lives accountable:

• A Texas firefighter died of injuries he received while fighting a fire when the high pressure hose on his air pack melted, releasing large amounts of air which not only intensified the fire, but also prevented him from using the air pack, forcing him to breathe toxic fumes.
• A California firefighter suffered brain damage when a defective gas mask malfunctioned. The manufacturer knew of the defect, but failed to advise the fire department or its distributor.

Article Reprinted with Permission from
American Association for Justice

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