AUSTIN –The first week of October marks Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week, which is recognized by Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and grassroots groups across the country that support legal reform.
The annual event serves to educate citizens about the cost and consequences of lawsuit abuse and reminds Texans that preventing lawsuit abuse “starts with you,” a press release states.
“While Texas has enacted strong lawsuit reforms, we know that you can’t legislate personal responsibility,” said Sergio Contreras, executive director of the Rio Grande Valley CALA. “It’s up to us to be smart legal consumers, show up for jury service and call out legal abuse when we see it.”
During LAAW, which runs until Oct. 6, CALAs across the state will participate in a social media campaign aimed at shining a light on some of the lawsuit reform successes and highlighting industries where lawsuit abuse still exists.
“LAAW is a great time to remind people that we all suffer when our legal system is abused,” said Jennifer Harris, executive director of Texans Against Lawsuit Abuse. “Courts become clogged with frivolous lawsuits, and ultimately the cost of these expensive lawsuits gets passed down to the consumer.”
LAAW arrives a month after House Bill 1774 and House Bill 1463 went into effect. Both laws are aimed at ensuring access to our courts and reining in lawsuit abuse, while preserving Texans’ right to sue, a press release states.
“After Harvey we saw legitimate information about HB 1774 being drowned out by misinformation from personal injury lawyers and their allies seeking to generate new cases and use our courts for greed, not justice,” added Harris.
“We encourage Texans to seek counsel from verifiable and credible sources,” added D’Anne Buquet, Executive Director of the Bay Area CALA. “Remain vigilant against misinformation and think twice before you sue.”