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Winners Announced Today!
Wacky Warning
Label Contest Winner Named |
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2009
Winners of the Wacky Warning Label Contest have been announced.
 Now in its
12th year, the internationally
known contest is
sponsored by the Foundation for Fair Civil Justice. Millions of
people around the world are reading stories or watching
television news reports about the contest
and laugh at how silly the warning labels are.
Bob Dorigo Jones,
(right), who
developed the contest, explained
that behind these silly labels is a serious public policy
concern—America’s out-of-whack system of civil justice.
The
contest reveals how lawsuits and the fear of lawsuits have
driven companies to spend millions on common-sense warnings.
 This
year’s winner is a submission from Steve Shiflett of Hampton,
Georgia. The label is attached to a portable toilet seat
for outdoorsmen called “The Off-Road Commode” because it is
designed to attach to a vehicle’s trailer hitch.
The warning
label reads "Not for use on moving vehicles".
Click Here to watch the 2-minute video.
Other
winners
include:
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A wart removal product instruction guide that warns, “Do
not use if you cannot see clearly to read the
information in the information booklet.”
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A label on the underside of a cereal bowl warns,
“Always use this product with adult supervision.”
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A small, 1” x 4” LCD panel warns, “Do not eat the LCD
panel.”
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A bag of livestock castration rings warns, “For animal
use only.”
“Once a year, millions of people around the world get a
collective laugh from our winners,” said Bob Dorigo Jones,
contest creator and bestselling author. “The truth is, this
is no laughing matter. Outrageous warning labels confirm
that the American civil justice system is out of whack! In
today’s economy, Wacky Warning Labels demonstrate the tax we
all pay for lawsuit abuse.”
“Legal reform is urgently needed
to help propel America’s economic recovery." says Dorigo
Jones. "Companies need to be focusing on developing
new products and jobs, not on defending themselves against
frivolous lawsuits.
But today, the thickest section
of any telephone book in the U.S. is the
section advertising the services of personal injury lawyers,
and that is not a recipe for an economic recovery. For
America to thrive, we need to expand the labor market, not
the litigation market.”
“According to the Pacific Research Institute,” continued
Dorigo Jones, “$589 billion would be saved per year for
investment in new jobs and consumer spending if U.S.
tort-cost levels were comparable in relative size with other
industrialized countries. This amount equals an annual
"litigation tax" for a family of four of more than $9,000."
In
its 2007 "Jackpot Justice" study, PRI points out that jobs,
earnings, output, tax revenue, and population grow faster in
top tort states than bottom, and tax rates are lower too.
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Philadelphia
Loses Another Two Maternity Centers
-- Closings Climb to 19 Due to Malpractice Liability
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 The
in early November of the Chestnut Hill maternity unit (featured left)
brings to 15 the number of Philadelphia-area maternity
centers that have closed due to the high cost of medical
malpractice insurance among other reasons.
Pregnant mothers in crisis may have to drive more than an
hour in traffic to reach a maternity care unit.
Two additional suburban
maternity centers have announced they are closing --
Central Montgomery Medical Center in Lansdale and Brandywine
Hospital in Coatesville.
The
American Medical Association (AMA) has labeled
Pennsylvania's healthcare delivery system as an “extreme-level crisis”,
citing shortages in key specialties
including OB/GYN, neurology, general surgery, oncology, and
radiology.
 "The
announced closing of the Chestnut Hill Hospital maternity
ward is yet another casualty of an unreliable medical
malpractice system. Restoring reliability to justice, such
as with special health courts, is essential to restoring the
trust needed for a healthy system of health care," said
Philip K. Howard (left), Common Good founder and chair .
 “Pennsylvania
is the poster child for the plaintiffs’ bar vision of
America – sue the doctor, sue the hospital, and when they
leave, support taxpayer-funded subsidies to hold onto the
remaining cash cow,” said Dan Pero (right), President of the
American Justice Partnership (AJP).
 Former
U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (left), founder of Center
for Health Transformation,
offered the following critique: “Health justice reform can
make all the difference in the world as it relates to the
accessibility of high quality healthcare. Physicians want
to practice in states where they can have an open, trusting
patient-physician relationship. And, physicians do not want
to practice in states which favor predatory personal injury
lawyers over physicians and surgeons.”
Read Dec 16 Article by Philadelphia Bulletin
Read
More About Pennsylvania's Humiliating Crisis
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Report Documents the High Financial Cost to Business
of Out-of-Control State Medical Liability Laws |
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 "In
its report,
Medical Crisis: A Pocketbook Matter for Employers,
the Foundation for Fair Civil Justice reveals the shocking statistics behind
the health care crisis in our nation," said
John Engler (below),
President of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and former
Governor of Michigan.
 "CEOs, small business owners, and top
executives will learn that patient access to health care directly
affects the cost of employer-paid health insurance. When a hostile legal
environment chokes the health care profession in a state, insurers raise
premiums or simply stop providing coverage," continued Engler.
"Here
is the fact: States that have expansive medical liability laws on
their books have driven doctors and healthcare facilities out of
business through sky-high malpractice insurance rates and predatory
tactics of the plaintiff’s bar,” said
Dan Pero, President of AJP. “Without basic legal reforms that protect patients and provide
relief for the health care community, patients suffer and businesses are
left holding the tab.”
Read More and Download Full Report (Updated October
2008)
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Audio Interviews |
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Dr. Lawrence McQuillan
Pacific Research Institute
In this FFCJ
exclusive interview, Dr. McQuillan joins FFCJ's Kristyn Shayon to talk
about the newly released
US Tort Liability Index: 2008 Report,
and the updated methodologies used to assemble
the two rankings produced by the study.
Listen to Interview
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Attorney General Bob McDonnell
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell
joins Kristyn Shayon to talk
about "the terrific tort climate" in Virginia. His common sense approach
to the application of justice has helped give Virginia a top ten ranking
in several major surveys and reports of all fifty states.
Listen to Interview
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Senator Charlie Ross
Mississippi State
Senate
In this interview, Senator Ross gives us the behind the
scenes look at just how close Mississippi came to a complete
breakdown of the civil justice system, and the ensuing campaign
for comprehensive legal reform that involved significant efforts
from the business, medical and legislative communities alike.
Listen to Interview
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Op-Ed
Articles |
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June 6, 2008
Global Warming, Cooling and
the Paradox of Blame
Shannon
Goessling,
Southeastern Legal
Foundation |
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May 14, 2008
Limiting lawsuit abuses
lowers costs from litigation,
creates jobs in long run
John Engler,
National Association of
Manufacturers
& Lawrence McQuillan,
Pacific Research Institute |
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March 20, 2008
No Class
John Sullivan,
Civil Justice Association of
California |
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February 28, 2008
'Reform' groups want voters
out of the loop
Dan Pero,
American Justice Partnership |
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Essential Reference |
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With Justice For All
Andrew Napolitano,
of the FOX News Channel, moderates a
lively debate between Dick Scruggs and
Steve Hantler,
FFCJ Chairman, about the pros and cons of
legal reform and the activities of the plaintiffs' bar. |
Essential Information Series
FFCJ speaks with key business
leaders and state officials about the urgency of lawsuit
reform at the state level and what is at stake for
consumers, business and the future quality of life in
America. |
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Click to Watch
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Click to
Watch
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Employees in Pennsylvania? Listen to
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