Answer:  If what you are really asking is why we are opposed to changes that would improve the legal system, we are not.  We believe we should do anything we can to improve the system and make it more accessible to individuals and families like yours.

What we are against are the proposals that masquerade as "reform" but take away your rights.  The most common one is to limit--regardless of the facts--the compensation that a jury made up of members of the community provides for people who have been injured through no fault of their own.

This big-government, one-size-fits-all approach replaces the judgment of a jury that has heard both sides of a case with the arbitrary, predetermined judgment of politicians who know none of the case facts.

Most of what gets called "reform" are changes that would make the legal system easier on corporations and big businesses at the expense of individuals.  For example, limiting what a corporation can win in a lawsuit is never proposed.  "Reformers" want to limit only how individuals can be compensated when they are injured.  And they never propose limits on how many lawyers a corporation can hire or how much they may be paid, but they want to make it more difficult for you to get a lawyer when you need one.

We are in favor of real improvements to the legal system.  For example, we are all for enforcing laws prohibiting meritless lawsuits and frivolous defenses, prohibiting secrecy of settlements or evidence when public health and safety are at stake, and giving juries more authority to ask questions and take notes, if the parties agree, to help them determine fault and decide fair compensation.  These are the changes we believe are really necessary.

If you have any legal questions or comments, please contact us.  There's a good chance we can help!  Visit www.JacksonWilson.com

This just in: By a 4-3 vote, the California Supreme Court has overturned the voter-approved gay marriage ban.

The Court has ruled that the state of California’s interest in upholding the ban — that is, as the court explains, "the interest in retaining the traditional and well-established definition of marriage" — does not meet constitutional muster. It "cannot properly be viewed as a compelling state interest for purposes of the equal protection clause, or as necessary to serve such an interest."

Why is this important concerning personal injury and wrongful death cases?  Because in the past (and unlike married couples), the "significant other" in a same sex relationship had only very limited rights when it came to his or her partner being injured or suffering a wrongful death.  It looks like these rights are going to expand to the surviving "partner" similar to the traditional surviving spouse in a marriage.  We'll keep you updated...

Daily, about 1,000 dog bite victims are treated in hospital emergency rooms.  About 15-20 of these dog bite attacks result in death.

More than half of all dog bite victims are children who are usually attacked in the face and head.  For every fatal dog bite in the United States, there are about 230,000 bites that are not treated by a physician.

About 40% of American’s own at least one dog resulting in more than 55 million dogs in the United States.  A majority of dog bite attacks happen at home or at a neighbors house in the presence of family and friends.

Rottweillers and Pit Bulls lead the pack in numbers when it comes to maiming and deaths.  Eight out of ten dog bites involve a male dog.  Dog bite losses exceeded $1 billion dollars per year.

If you, a family member or friend are injured or sustain wrongful death because of a dog bite attack, we can help.  More details can be found at www.JacksonWilson.com

Special-interest groups have been falsely decrying the existence of a "litigation explosion" for decades. They oppose the way citizen lawsuits and our civil justice system can serve as fair and fundamental checks on the power of businesses and governments.

To minimize accountability for wrongdoers’ harmful conduct, special-interest groups and their highly paid lobbyists promote efforts to limit the legal rights of American families, claiming that too many lawsuits have led to excessive costs and delays.  They just don’t trust the American people.

But there is no litigation explosion.

Since 1992, lawsuit filings have declined more than nine percent.

Automobile lawsuit filings, which make up the majority of all tort (or personal injury) claims, have fallen more than 14 percent since the early 1990’s.

Medical malpractice filings per 100,000 persons have dropped more than one percent.

In 22 of the 30 states that the National Center for State Courts examined, population-adjusted lawsuit filings declined over the last 15-20 years. The average change in tort filings across all 30 states was a 15 percent decrease.

The department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that the number of civil trials decreased by 47 percent over the last 15-20 years and, the median inflation-adjusted award in all lawsuits dropped 56 percent during this same period of time to $28,000.

Always make sure to protect your valuable rights when it comes to personal injury and wrongful death cases.  We have the best civil and criminal legal system in the world and as an American citizen, you have the absolute right to use our system of justice to protect your valuable legal rights.  Call us with questions.  Go to www.JacksonWilson.com