The annual El Tour de Tucson in Arizona is one of the more popular and successful public bicycling touring events with up to 11,000 bicyclists registered each year to cycle distances of varying lengths and raise money for various charitable causes.
Unfortunately, in 2008, Gary Stuebe suffered brain damage when his bicycle and 10 others were struck by a 91-year-old motorist who claimed he was unable to see the approaching pack of bicycles. His attorney blamed the county for adjusting a roadside safety measure where the bike accident happened that may have led to the accident. Stuebe and four other cyclists brought suit against the motorist, Pima County and Perimeter Bicycling Association, the organizer of the event. The suits were eventually settled.
The lawsuits in the El Tour de Tucson incident were designed to compensate the injured bicyclists, but another effect was that the tour's organizers changed the course design to make it safer. Tour leaders also got more training on bike course safety. The lawsuits didn't bring about the end of El Tour de Tucson; rather, they created an incentive for organizers to make simple changes that increased the overall safety of the course for all bikers.
Person Injury Lawsuits Increase Safety for All
Although the United States civil system is often criticized for being overly litigious, the overwhelming majority of civil suits are legitimate. The civil system was designed to compensate people injured by the negligent or criminal conduct of corporate entities. While it is true that anyone can sue anyone, the courts are extremely vigilant about tossing out any case that fails to state a legitimate cause of action. Attorneys who pursue these frivolous claims can quickly find themselves sanctioned by the court as well.
Consumer lawsuits have been instrumental in improving consumer safety and awareness in the United States. Examples includes mass recalls and redesigns of many consumer products such as child safety seats and cribs whose defective designs led to the deaths and serious injuries of countless children. Ford Motor Company in the 1970s was forced to recall and eventually redesign its gas tanks on the Ford Pinto following numerous lawsuits and public outrage when it was revealed that Ford knew of a dangerous design flaw but chose not to fix the design because a few wrongful death verdicts or settlements would be cheaper than fixing the problem on all the vehicles. Companies operating in the United States have accepted that they cannot sacrifice safety over cost of fixing problems with their products.
In comparison, U.S. tourists in other countries with civil justice systems that are less robust than the American system may quickly realize the dangers that the U.S. system has already corrected here. From dangerous transportation and road design, to amusement park rides, to unsafe conditions at places of interest, other justice systems have failed to address or encourage individual redress, and ultimately, have failed to address safety concerns on a large scale.
Personal injury lawsuits have the potential to cost negligent companies millions of dollars along with negative publicity that can hurt their profitability and dissuade future investors. Individuals that act negligently can also face ruin. In the United States, the justice system works because it is able to withstand the few frivolous suits in the interest of ultimately improving consumer safety and corporate responsibility across the nation.
