Ed Markey: “Mr. Chairman, if we take the case which is before us and we change it just slightly, the business executive who was…”

“Mr. Chairman, if we take the case which is before us and we change it just slightly, the business executive who was mowing the lawn and his 15-year-old son or daughter was mowing the lawn and the engine of the lawnmower exploded, blinding the executive, blinding the daughter, the measure of damages now would be, under this punitive new standard, that the executive could collect his $3 million as a punitive damage. The girl, the daughter, could only collect whatever the jury might think she might be entitled to, but capped at her economic worth, which is $5 an hour, which is what her mother or father was paying her to mow the lawn. The point of a punitive suit being to send a signal to the entire lawnmower industry to fix this engine. Now, who should collect? It should be that little girl, not some socialistic scheme that gives the money back to the States. It should be to that girl who had the courage to bring the case.”