"Child whose intestines were sucked out by a pool device"

[pnorman]

I've been seeing reference to the, several times lately here. I assume that's been in the news and verifiable. Can anyone here point me to it? I'm getting involved with the so-called "tort reform" issue on a listserve, and that would pretty well shut them up.

pnorman

[Southsideirish]

1. Are you talking about the case on which Edwards was the defense

lawyer?

[Pirate Smile]

7. Edwards would have been the Plaintiffs attorney, not the defense attorney.

[alittlelark]

2. a link

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2003/09/15/edwardss_career_tied_to_jury_award_debate/

[Eric J in MN]

3. Here is a link

http://www.monkeytime.org/lakey.html#accident

[crispini]

4. Dunno about online sources

but it's in Edwards' book, 'Four Trials' ... blow by blow, pretty good description and IMO the corp was SHOWN to be negligent.

[alittlelark]

11. How about USA Today....but I'll warn you

it's an on-line source.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2003-11-19-edwards-son_x.htm

[Narraback]

5. I believe that it is in John Edward's book "Four Cases"

Also, I bet a web search for "Edwards and Child and intestines" would get the info.

[joefree1]

6. Here's something from tompaine.com

George W. Bush

As Texas Governor, George W. Bush was one of the "tort reform" movement's biggest proponents. One of Bush's first acts as governor in 1995 was to meet with representatives of nine Texas Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) chapters in a salsa factory outside of Austin, after which he declared a legislative "emergency" on "frivolous lawsuits." Over his two terms, Bush signed a series of brutal bills that severely reduced injured consumers' rights to go to court.

U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, R-Pa.

As a United States Senator, Rick Santorum has repeatedly supported limits on consumers' rights to seek compensation in the courts. In 1994, Santorum sponsored the Comprehensive Family Health Access and Savings Act that would have capped non-economic damages at $250,000. In a 1995 floor speech supporting damages caps, Santorum said, "We have a much too costly legal system. It is one that makes us uncompetitive and inefficient, and one that is not fair to society as a whole. While we may have people, individuals, who hit the jackpot and win the lottery in some cases, that is not exactly what our legal system should be designed to do."

more ...
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/4286

[baldguy]

8. Valerie Lakey

http://www.monkeytime.org/lakey.html

snip

Here are the basic facts: On June 24, 1993, Valerie Lakey was playing in a wading pool at the Medfield Area Recreation Club in Wake County, NC (a few miles down the road from where I live in Raleigh). The drain cover on the only suction outlet in the pool had been removed sometime previously, probably by other children earlier that day. When Valerie approached the uncovered outlet, the suction was strong enough to pull her down and suck 80% of her small intestine and 50-70% of her large intestine out through her anus. Four adults could not free her until the pool's pumps had been turned off. It sounds like some kind of urban legend but it's not. It's happened multiple times, actually.

...

... discovered that 12 other children had suffered similar injuries from Sta-Rite drains. The company raised its offer to $1.25 million. Two weeks into the trial, they upped the figure to $8.5 million. Edwards declined the offer and asked for their insurance policy limit of $22.5 million. The day before the trial resumed from Christmas break, Sta-Rite countered with $17.5 million. Again, Edwards said no...the jury found Sta-Rite guilty and liable for $25 million in economic damages (by state law, punitive damages could have tripled that amount). The company immediately settled for $25 million, the largest verdict in state history.

[Ravy]

9. If someone is in favor of "tort reform" just point them to Edward's book!

Putting caps on damages and suffering will do nothing to curb frivolous lawsuits.

But, it will cause these greviously injured people he has represented to suffer far more than they already have.

[skygazer]

10. My problem with tort reform

Is that it allows these large corporations to get away with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist when they're found at fault for something. A multi-million dollar settlement does not bring back a dead or injured child but the motivation is not greed - it's to make it against the interest of a company financially to cut corners or cheat people. If a company knows the limit it can be sued for is only $250,000, it doesn't provide much incentive to act honorably. That's a lot of money for me but for most corporations, it's a drop in the bucket.

[pnorman]

12. WOW!!! That was fast!

I have precisely what I needed, and I'll post it pronto on that litserve. Thanks to all.

pnorman