Don’t Raise Liability Caps – Eliminate Them

Trial and error is often the tactic used to determine how effective a regulation is. Over time, new laws and legislation is tested by comparing statistics and doing analysis of impact to determine if the parameters of the law are adequately set. While this seems like a good idea in some respects, would you like this guess-and-check strategy applied to serious matters like the gulf oil spill?

The current $75 million liability cap is considered to be too low by some, and there's a proposal to raise it to $10 billion. Seeing as how BP has been able to offer up $20 billion in additional claims coverage, $10 billion doesn't look like it will scare oil giants like them at all. There's even some that are saying the liability cap shouldn't be changed, or even lowered, because high liability caps deter smaller, less financially sound companies from operating.

I don't think I want an under-funded, small oil company drilling off MY shores, do you? 

Oil companies, airlines, and doctors alike need to be held liable for their negligence no matter what the cost. Just by performing due diligence in safety measures and extra caution when operating will decrease the amount of tragic accidents and eliminate the fear of liability. If you can be sued for all you're worth, you'd take a few extra steps to ensure you're doing your job, right?

It's not just medical malpractice that suffers from liability caps allowing for a bit of slacking off in the safety and responsibility department. My article on the oil industry and liability caps talks more about the effect liability caps has on an industry that, as we've seen, has the potential to cause billions of dollars of damages in a matter of weeks.

Understanding liability caps is important when you are seeking to file a lawsuit, especially for medical malpractice. Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass has been fighting to help victims in the Virginia and D.C. areas for their medical malpractice claims. For more information, contact us today - 703-591-9829.