OKWATCHDOG STATEMENT ON HB 1603
The attack on injured Oklahomans’ rights continued with passage of House Bill 1603.
The corporate immunity bill includes so many anti-consumer provisions that it should be called the Insurance Company Bailout and Dangerous Doctor Protection Act. The bill does nothing for average Oklahomans or their legal and health care systems but surely will pad the profits of the nation’s wealthiest corporations.
The bill’s throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater philosophy would make Oklahoma a place where the same banks, insurance companies and corporations that have bled taxpayers dry nationwide may do so with impunity, a place where checks and balances on their worst conduct are all but removed.
HB 1603 is clearly misguided and is based on a crisis that has been manufactured to shut Oklahomans out of their own legal system. Insurance companies and corporations have billions of dollars and teams of lawyers. Legislators shouldn’t stack the deck irreparably in their favor.
Perhaps what is most telling about HB 1603 is that it does nothing to contain corporation-against-corporation and corporation-against-consumer lawsuits.
Apparently for Senate GOP leaders, lawsuits are alright as long as a business sues a customer or competitor. But if an injured Oklahoman sues the person or corporation at fault, it’s “frivolous.” The contrast couldn’t be more obvious.
OKWATCHDOG STATEMENT ON HB 1602
The courts are often the last recourse for Oklahomans who are injured or defrauded. Yet without attorneys there is no access to the courts. And without contingency fees there is no access to attorneys, except for the wealthy.
Insurance companies and huge corporations can continue to spend untold millions and hire teams of lawyers to fight legitimate claims. It costs tremendous money to take on those with no restrictions on what they can spend and a refusal to admit wrongdoing.
Contingency fees have been called the “key to the courthouse.” The courthouse doors will remain unlocked for injured Oklahomans.
