Ron Bigler's article on tort reform ("Punitive tort reform," June 30)
over looked two big points. First, a $250,000 cap on punitive damages
will keep cases of personal injury out of court. A lawyer's fee is 40
percent of this $250,000, from which he must pay all expenses and employ
highpriced expert witnesses. Second, tort reform effectively deregulates
corporations, freeing them to cut any corners and to take any risks in
their quest for greater profits.

Here's a case in point. In 1993, the Food and Drug Administration's
panel on overthecounter drugs found that acetaminophen taken with
alcohol caused liver disease, even when taken in recommended dosages The
FDA instructed manufacturers to put a warning label on their products.
McNeil Laboratories, the makers of Tylenol, have a 30 percent share of
the overthecounter pain reliever market with their acetaminophen
product. Here in California in 1996, they finally complied with the FDA
directive and put a warning label on their products. When the state
legislature passed a product liability law that put a cap on damages,
McNeil Laboratories took the warning labels off.

Corporations can't be trusted to do the right thing. If you'd like to
know the dangers of acetaminophen, ask the American Liver Foundation for
a copy of the clinical review, "Acetaminophen, a failed treatment."

Torn Freeman
Colton, Calif.