Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer Takes Dim View of New Florida Law

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on June 29, 2011

Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham is very concerned about a new Florida law that limits injured people’s rights in product liability cases. On June 23, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law that will allow jurors in a product liability case to consider the cause of the accident that led to the case. This new law has potentially devastating effects on people injured in accidents caused by defective automobiles. Previous Florida product liability laws gave injured people greater freedom in pursuing damages against the manufacturers of defective products by limiting companies’ ability to protect themselves.

Now, with tremendous support by automakers and other manufacturers, the new law allows businesses to bring new evidence to product liability trials, which, no doubt, will severely undermine victims’ rights to pursue damages against companies that make defective products. One spokeswoman for Ford Motor Company hailed the new law, saying it corrected serious shortcomings of the previous law. Ford’s Marcey Evans said, “Because of this inequity, the Florida plaintiffs’ trial lawyers were filing hundreds of offensive cases involving criminal driver negligence, and car companies were prevented from educating the jury as to the actual cause of the accident. Wasteful and unfair litigation costs reduce American manufacturing jobs.”

Orlando personal injury lawyer James O. Cunningham was one of many personal injury attorneys across the state who criticized the new law, saying that it severely limits injured peoples’ rights to seek damages against negligent manufacturers. One Florida personal injury lawyer called the new law “ludicrous” and put automakers’ claims in perspective by saying, “There aren’t tens of thousands (of lawsuits) being filed. When they are filed, they have big damages” that are very important in helping victims who are “quadriplegics or having burns on 80 percent of their body.”

More than ever, the new law illustrates the importance of having an experienced, aggressive Orlando personal injury lawyer by your side if you have suffered an injury from a defective product. Injured people need and deserve a lawyer who knows how to build an effective case against negligent manufacturers and help them receive fair and just compensation. If you or a close family member has been injured by a defective product and you have questions about your legal options, call James O. Cunningham today at 888-425-2004 or 407-425-2000 to schedule your free consultation.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.