Asbestos Bailout Bill

Mesothelioma and asbestos related diseases have killed hundreds of thousands, including many men who served in our armed forces, e.g. Navy Veterans. The deaths were caused because corporations knowingly poisoned individuals with asbestos fraudulently hiding for more than 30 years the dangers of asbestos.

Now, just a year after President Bush's Solicitior General criminally indicted W.R. Grace and 7 of its executives for knowingly exposing workers and residents of Libby, Montana to asbestos, Senator Bill Frist (the heart surgeon known for trying to protect doctors at your expense) is pushing a corporate asbestos bail out that would give W.R Grace $2.8 BILLION.

According to the National Taxpayers Union, this corporate asbestos bailout would cost taxpayers a minimum of $45 BILLION.

Not only that, but as a result of such an asbestos bailout bill, many mesothelioma victims will have NO RIGHTS to recover including:
~ those exposed to asbestos in a neighborhood, home or school,
~ victims exposed in the World Trade Center collapse of September 11th,
~ those exposed in Hurricane Katrina, and
~ Veterans whose service does not meet narrow criteria.

Today, I discussed this issue with Reporter Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and I'll post more on that later. For now, however, I urge you to contact these Senators and tell them to vote against S.B. 852:
Tom Carper Delaware
Saxby Chambliss Georgia
John Cornyn Texas
Chris Dodd Connecticut
Mike DeWine Ohio
Elizabeth Dole North Carolina
Bill Frist Tennessee
Dianne Feinstein California
Ted Kennedy Massachusetts
Herb Kohl Wisconsin
Pat Leahy Vermont
Bill Nelson Florida
Ben Nelson Nebraska
Harry Reid Nevada
Paul Sarbanes Maryland
Arlen Specter Pennsylvania
Debbie Stabenow Michigan

Wisconsin Mesotheliom Lawyer

Wisconsin Personal Injury Tort Reform - part 2

Wisconsin personal injury lawsuits, as I indicated in part 1, are small in number as Wisconsin is not litigious. Personal injury cases are just an issue used by politicians to get contributions from the likes of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and American Family Insurance.

The truth is far more revealing than the politicians. Here's the Wisconsin's Director of State Courts' report. In Wisconsin, 31 Counties had ZERO product liability cases filed and 26 Counties had ZERO medical malpractice cases filed in 2004. Further, each Wisconsin county on average had about only five jury trials in any personal injury case (note this includes every type of personal injury, e.g. Wisconsin car accidents, mesothelioma cases, medical malpractice, etc.).

Hopefully now you understand why I gag every time I hear a pundit or politician refer to a "litigation explosion" in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Catholic Knights Lawyer

Catholic Knights is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin not-for-profit organization that serves its members, sells some insurance products, and does a lot of good for people throughout the Milwaukee area. As a result of my Board position in the St. Thomas More Society of Wisconsin, I've learned that Catholic Knights is seeking a lawyer to take over as in-House Counsel. If you're interested contact careers at Catholic Knights.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Wisconsin Personal Injury Tort Reform

Wisconsin personal injury verdicts are lower than most states. Wisconsin juries are made up of conservative individuals who find for doctors and corporations more often than other juries. Thus, when I heard WTMJ's Jeff Wagner refer to a "litigation explosion" in Wisconsin today, I nearly choked on my Subway. It's rubbish.

Whether it's Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, American Family Insurance, or similar groups, these people cry "wolf" too often. Unfortunately, talk radio hosts and politicians like Mark Green and Scott Walker, though they may have the right idea on many issues, only propagate the myth perpetuated for decades. It's more of this how to demonize personal injury lawyers garbage.

Wisconsin is not litigious. Wisconsin jury verdicts are low. And, most Wisconsinites I help with a Wisconsin car accident or other personal injury first tell me, what I think I also heard from WISN's Bob Dolan, "I'm not the kind of person that files a lawsuit, but...."

And from there you can fill in the blank with, for example:
- the insurance adjuster claims I'm at fault,
- they're not being fair,
- I'm missing work,
- I'm permanently disabled, or whatever else.

Bottom line, Wisconsin's personal injury tort system works and doesn't produce outrageous results and this is true because all most people in Wisconsin want is what's fair, no more and no less.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin Court Records, Sex Offenders & Corporations

Wisconsin court records are put online by the circuit courts for most (not all) criminal, civil and other cases. It's on the Consolidated Court Automation Programs web site (CCAP).

Wisconsin's registered Sex Offenders may be found at the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry. There's also a National Sex Offender Public Registry.

Corporations in Wisconsin, LLCs and other business records are often able to be found at the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institution's Wisconsin Corporation Records.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer

Asbestos trial for will not be moved

Libby, Montana was a A town left to die by W.R. Grace. I've been interviewed on this Asbestos story by NBC News as a Wisconsin asbestos attorney and mesothelioma lawyer in Wisconsin handling mesothelioma cases. Though W.R. Grace executives attempted to escape justice in an asbestos trial in Montana by asking to move their trial, a judge recently denied their request.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

Wisconsin law shames delinquent taxpayers on web

Wisconsin law requires shaming delinquent taxpayers on the web, which is done through the Wisconsin Delinquent Taxpayers list. Per state law, delinquent taxpayers are put there if they owe more than $25,000 and the amount is unpaid more than 90 days after all appeal rights have expired. In fact, the Department of Revenue warned these folks with letters about two months ago so peruse it and then tell your friends they can be removed from the list if they enter into a repayment agreement, file a petition to compromise or file for bankruptcy.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Lawyer