Visit the Press Room for more breaking news

Contact Carlton Carl, ATLA Director of Media Relations, (202) 965-3500 x334

“Do as I say, not as I sue.”
Lawsuits by Rep. Tom DeLay and Sen. Rick Santorum Show Hypocrisy about Civil Justice System

(Wednesday, March 30, 2005)—In a hypocritical case of "Do as I say, not as I sue," two leading proponents of the drive to strip Americans of their legal rights – Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) – participated in personal injury lawsuits filed by their families. Today, ATLA President Todd A. Smith released the following statement.

Statement of ATLA President Todd A. Smith:

“No one expects to be a victim of medical malpractice or a faulty product that injures or kills. We all hope we never have to file a lawsuit. But 100,000 Americans die every year of preventable medical errors, and millions more, like Sen. Santorum’s wife, are disabled or injured for life. Companies like Enron, Firestone, and Merck continue to knowingly defraud, injure, and kill innocent Americans.

“What Tom DeLay and Rick Santorum ought to understand is that when it’s your father, your wife, or your child who is injured or killed by someone else’s negligence, that’s not frivolous. And when members of Congress who’ve exercised their constitutional right to hold wrongdoers accountable try to take that right away from ordinary Americans, that’s not reform – that’s the height of hypocrisy.

“We don’t resent Rep. DeLay or Sen. Santorum for seeking justice in the courts. Any fellow human being has compassion for a family that loses a father too young, or a woman facing a life of pain and disability. DeLay and Santorum were both represented by trial lawyers.

“For them to now demagogue against victims and the trial lawyers who helped their families in order to further the radical agenda of their corporate contributors is insulting to the pain and suffering of victims, including their own family members.

“No one should be allowed to receive anything for a frivolous lawsuit, but – just as occurred in DeLay and Santorum’s suits – we should always be willing to let a jury decide the outcome of a legitimate lawsuit. It’s shameful that politicians like Tom DeLay and Rick Santorum would deny that right to other families.”

Background on DeLay and Santorum Lawsuits

The Los Angeles Times reported March 27, 2005 that Rep. DeLay’s family filed a lawsuit against two companies responsible for a faulty machine part the family says caused the tragic death of the congressman’s father. The case was reportedly settled in 1993 for non-economic damages (pain and suffering) of approximately $250,000.

According to the Times, three years after he participated in his family’s lawsuit, DeLay cosponsored a bill specifically designed to override state laws on product liability, such as the one cited in his family's lawsuit. DeLay has railed against what he calls “frivolous, parasitic lawsuits,” bringing to mind the old adage that “a frivolous lawsuit is one brought by anyone other than you.”

Sen. Santorum testified in his wife’s $500,000 lawsuit in 1999 seeking pain and suffering damages, filed against a chiropractor whose care left her with permanent back pain and permanent numbness in one leg.

Both DeLay and Santorum support a medical malpractice bill that would hurt every innocent victim of medical negligence and apply to all cases, no matter how severe the injury or how horrible the negligence by the doctor, hospital, insurance company or nursing home.

As the world's largest trial bar, ATLA promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, defends the constitutional right to trial by jury, and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety. With 60,000 members worldwide, ATLA provides lawyers with the information and professional assistance they need to serve clients successfully and protect the democratic values of the civil justice system.