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Saturday, December 21, 2024

Bill Hammond & Associates founder: Lengthy litigation delays have prevented 'consumers from receiving fair compensation'

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Bill Hammond | X

Bill Hammond | X

Bill Hammond, co-founder of Bill Hammond & Associates, said years worth of evidence and opinions used in litigation cases have delayed "consumers from receiving fair compensation in awarded damages."

"After years of trial and tribulation, these claimants now have a chance to get the favorable settlement they deserve,” Hammond wrote in a guest column on Rio Grande Guardian. “What’s more, the power rests with the claimants to make the call—not the trial lawyers, who may benefit from more days in court on the matter when, in actuality, taking these cases to trial does not guarantee the claimants will receive the recovery they are looking for. “

“Years of faulty evidence and flawed expert opinions linking talc exposure to ovarian cancer have been tossed around, delaying consumers from receiving fair compensation in awarded damages,” he wrote. “As it’s becoming less clear whether their claims were being taken legitimately, this plan was proposed to offer them a clear path forward and a huge payout over the next 25 years.”

There is currently a pending decision in a litigation case against Johnson and Johnson for harm caused by trace amounts of asbestos in their baby powder products. LTL Management, J&J’s Texas-based subsidiary, has been fighting over 61,000 cases of consumers claiming these products caused them harm. 

These cases have been some of the largest and most expensive of their kind, with attorney fees for these cases can reaching as high as a third of the final payout. 

"In the case of Johnson & Johnson, the company has offered multiple options to claimants looking to settle out of court rather than continue costly legal battles that could result in fewer rewards for those harmed," Yaël Ossowski, deputy director for the Consumer Choice Center (CCC) wrote in a Dallas Express op-ed. "The latest settlement would be a combined $6.5 billion paid out over 25 years to those who were diagnosed with ovarian cancer," but due to large tort firms having interest in these payouts, the cases have continued.  

"Over the last decade, mass tort lawsuits have exploded in the U.S., with many cases being brought against companies operating in the healthcare sector,” Kasia Mulligan, national spokesperson for Patients Come First (PCF) said in a column on RealClearPolicy. “According to a Wall Street Journal news report, the number of federal civil cases increased almost a quarter from the year prior.”

“Litigation of this nature has sometimes served to hold bad actors accountable and ensure just compensation for victims,” she said. “However, the unfortunate reality is that the recent surge has largely been driven by frivolous lawsuits, with some private-equity firms and hedge funds joining in on the action, loaning out billions to law firms to fund litigation and for ad time with the expectation of a return on their investments. While these cases may intend to benefit patients, they end up hindering progress, causing patients to ultimately bear the brunt of lost innovation."

Mulligan explains that unnecessary litigation can block the research and implementation of new methods and treatments for diseases like Alzheimer’s and different cancers. It also causes a drain on hospital or research facility’s finances, leaving them less able to pursue research opportunities for patient treatments. 

Bill Hammond is the former CEO of Texas Association of Business, and previously served as a state legislator. He is the co-founder of Bill Hammond & Associates, a lobbying and government relations firm.

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