On June 28, 2011 Governor Corbett signed SB 1131, also known as the “Fair Share Act,” into law. Previously, Pennsylvania stood with a small minority of states, which believed in protecting and fairly compensating innocent victims for their injuries. Now, Pennsylvania stands with 40 plus states that have gotten it wrong. It stands with states that are more interested in appeasing big business than protecting innocent victims.
The “Fair Share Act” as corporate business interests have labeled it, abolishes joint and several liability in the State of Pennsylvania. Formerly, under joint and several liability, any defendant who was found liable for an injury could be held liable to pay 100 percent of the damages to the injured party.
Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. The very fact that corporate business interests have successfully labeled SB 1131 the “Fair Share Act” makes the new law sound like it is more fair than joint and several liability, when in fact the opposite is true.
Joint and several liability was important to Pennsylvania personal injury victims for a variety of reasons. Primarily it prevented victims from being under-compensated for their injuries. This was because if one defendant did not have the money to pay the victim for their injuries, the victim could be fully compensated by any other defendant who was partly at fault.
Now under the “Fair Share Act,” or as I like to call it the “(Un)fair Share Act,” a defendant’s liability will be “several” as opposed to “joint” unless the case falls into one of the following categories:
- The defendant is 60 percent or more at fault.
- There was an intentional misrepresentation.
- There was an intentional tort.
- There was a release or threatened release under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act.
- There was a violation of section 497 of the Liquor Code.
Here's an example of how the new law works. Let's assume there are two defendants who are each 50 percent at fault and one of these defendants is bankrupt. In that case the injured victim will only be compensated for 50 percent of his or her injuries. This puts the victim and Pennsylvania taxpayers in a precarious situation because the victim may not have the ability to pay for all of his or her damages (i.e.: pain and suffering, medical bills, and wage loss) if they are only partially compensated. If the victim cannot pay, who do then covers the rest of their bills? (Think future medical bills). You guessed it. It’s you as a Pennsylvania taxpayer. The new law effectively transfers responsibility from corporate wrongdoers onto the shoulders of the taxpayer.
The legal principle behind joint and several liability rested upon the premise that defendants were in the best position to pay for the plaintiff’s damages. Now, under the (Un)fair Share Act, injury victims may very well be under-compensated.
In essence, Governor Corbett and the Pennsylvania Legislature have decided that they would rather protect those at fault for an accident where the wrongdoer causes injury over those who have been injured. How can that ever be fair?
As a personal injury attorney in Pennsylvania I feel an obligation to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Unfortunately, the (Un)fair Share Act will protect corporations, insurance companies and negligent defendants who are responsible for injuring innocent victims.
