Faulty Airbags Symptom of Larger Issue

Exploding airbags, spontaneous combustion, unresponsive brakes and ignition key failures. What’s next? These are only a few of the many dangerous risks that are facing millions of drivers every day in this country.

About a month ago, a young woman died in a traffic accident. The police thought she had been violently stabbed beforehand, perhaps causing the accident, but no. It turns out that the horrible stab wounds were actually caused by “shrapnel” that flew into her body because of a faulty airbag.

Now, 7.9 million cars have been recalled for “faulty” airbags. This is in addition to GM’s 26 million recalled vehicles. There have been at least 35 recalls announced by auto manufacturers in the last month alone.

Why are manufacturers able to get away with cutting corners and risking the lives of millions of people? Well, for one, did you know that the Michigan Republican legislature immunized drug manufacturers? That’s right, immunized! Michigan citizens are the only ones who cannot sue if a drug manufacturer kills or injures you.

Don’t you feel safer?

Republicans also made it virtually impossible to sue all other manufacturers, including auto. That’s why you never see or hear of a verdict in Michigan for a defective product – like Jeep rollovers, etc.

Feel safer?

These manufacturers can only get away with it if the people are sheep, following along and allowing them to do whatever they want.

It’s time for a little Fieger Time rabble rousing if you ask me.

The Problem with Appellate Courts

At Fieger Law, I have preached holding the values of our democracy to a higher standard. We care for our clients and we win for them whether the case is in trial or on appeal.
We are not afraid to win.
In my America, people have the right to be judged by their peers, to have a trial lawyer fight for their rights in the court of law.
People are supposed to be given due process and are presumed innocent. But, that isn’t how it works, is it?
It’s also important to have an experienced attorney represent you in the appellate courts. At Fieger Law we have experienced trial lawyers and we also have an entire appellate department specializing in appeals.
The Fieger Law Appellate Department is considered our “think tank.” Our appellate attorneys provide the firm with research and expertise in the law. They spend all of their time focusing on every aspect of the law, constantly doing research to ensure that we win every case that comes through our doors.
In the appellate courts there are no juries and decisions are made by politically appointed judges.
The appellate courts don’t allow full hearing, only oral argument.
Once a decision has been made by the Court of Appeals, it is difficult to appeal the decision again. The only place to turn after an appellate decision is to the high courts: the State Supreme Court, or the U.S. Supreme Court. These courts hear few cases, and tend to turn down appeals unless there is some question regarding the law itself.
This often leaves ordinary folks with nowhere to turn.
You may have won a case at trial only to have an appeals court overrule the win, often for political reasons.

The Terrorists Won

The U.S. is about to release the Senate report on the use of torture on prisoners during the Bush Administration. Although previously classified, the redacted report is expected to conclude that no significant intelligence was obtained through brutally torturing prisoners. I am sure some Americans who saw “Zero Dark Thirty” will insist that torture was effective, and war criminals such as Dick Cheney will insist that torture was not only effective – it was fun!

The reality is that the moment we began to torture prisoners was the day the terrorists won. They beat us. They accomplished their mission of transforming America and destroying whatever moral argument we retained. The moment we began to torture prisoners, we became no better than the terrorists.

The fear of terrorists was exactly what they wanted … fear so blinding that we ignored international laws, our own laws and began to willingly forfeit our Constitutional rights. They didn’t take our rights or our character – we gave it away. When we should have been less afraid of another 9/11 than of our response to that fear, we lost our perspective and lost the “war.”

The Senate report on torture is just another reminder of that defeat.