Personal Injury Law

Corporate front group calls for less corporate oversight

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which acts as a front group for corporations and advocated for policies that drove our country?s economy to collapse, is now calling for more of the same policies. The Chamber of Commerce released its annual lawsuit climate rankings today by its Institute for Legal Reform ? calling for less oversight and less accountability for the Wall Street, drug, and insurance companies that fund the corporate front group. The survey screams unreliability as it relies on the opinions of corporate defense attorneys that profit when their companies are shielded after hurting American consumers. The Chamber is financed by companies like AIG, which gave nearly $25 million to the Chamber in the last decade to sit on its board. The same AIG that the U.S. government bailed out with taxpayer dollars after the insurance group failed to set aside reserves for large financial risks that it took in selling derivative contracts. The Chamber has also been very vocal in pursuing so-called "tort reform," an attempt to limit the rights of those personally injured by negligence.

Peter J. Flowers, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, replied that the Chamber?s report ?is just another shallow attempt to weaken the civil justice system to help its Wall Street and Big business financers its Wall Street and Big business financers.? Hopefully, the American people remember what they have seen what happens when the Chamber?s largest clients ? like AIG, insurance and drug companies ? are not held accountable. Year after year, academics, consumer groups, and other experts have ridiculed the Chamber?s report for its errors and lack of methodology. The report has been called inaccurate, unfair, and bad for business.

Click here to read a detailed analysis of the annual rankings.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on March 25, 2010 (boomark / email).