“This Week in Madison” News Podcast for the Week of 10-3-2011 by The Badger Herald

Legislation proposed in the governor’s special session on jobs that seeks to give health companies in the state immunity from consumer lawsuits is being condemned by critics who say it will do little to create jobs and will weaken oversight, though others believe it gives certainty to Wisconsin job creators.

A bill co-authored by Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, and Sen. Rich Zipperer, R-Pewaukee, would grant drug companies and medical device manufacturers in the state immunity from lawsuits under certain circumstances, according to a statement from Gov. Scott Walker’s office.

The bill is one of four legislative proposals in the special session on jobs, which last week commenced in the state Legislature, that deals with litigation certainty, the statement said.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin Executive Director Robert Kraig said there would be consumer health hazards if producers of products which could cause serious injury or death are granted legal immunity.

“If a drug or medical device produced [by a company] kills people, there would be liabilities,” Kraig said. “[However] if you have a bill that makes them immune [to lawsuit], it makes them more likely to be negligent.”

Kraig said it is “unconscionable” to include this immunity measure and the other litigation certainty measures into the special session on jobs, saying these bills would do little to create employment in the state. He said the governor is more concerned with serving a special interest agenda than he is in relieving the middle class of the pressures they face from the job crisis.

University of Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs said in general the argument can be made that tort reform like this can relieve businesses of the anxiety of facing unwanted lawsuits.

Downs also serves as an adviser to The Badger Herald’s Board of Directors.

This can give businesses more perceived freedom when making both operation and production decisions, he said, since they will not be concerned about being sued over their products.

Still, Walker’s statement argues the legislation introduced in the special session will give job creators in the state the confidence they need to hire more middle class employees.

Bills backed by both Democrats and Republicans are included in the special session, the statement said, in order to keep party politics aside for the purposes of creating jobs.

Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin said from a non-partisan standpoint, the litigation certainty bills in the special session are inherently political. He said there is no hard evidence that “frivolous lawsuits” are numerous or a financial drain on businesses or the state.

He said this is an attempt by the right to weaken the political power of trial lawyers, who tend to support Democratic candidates, by limiting the number of cases they can call against corporations. He said these bill will most likely see little opposition in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Kraig said the inclusion of these bills in the special session may be motivated by the governor’s desire to pay back corporate campaign contributors by granting them immunity from consumer lawsuits. He said the passage of the bill could greatly weaken consumers’ ability to hold businesses accountable for their actions.

“The civil justice system is one of the only places in society where the average person can take on the corporations,” Kraig said. “If you choke the playing field so far that they can’t get in the door, there’s no responsibility from corporations for their conduct.”

Zipperer and Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie did not return requests for comment.