The legal term “preemption” is one of those boring sounding words that makes eyes glaze over and starts the snoozefest. Seems like the Bush administration is counting on that reaction in its latest threat to consumer safety.

Preemption is a concept that provides that federal law can trump or overrule state standards when Congress passes a law and intends that its law displaces inconsistent state law. Like I said, it’s a yawner. But in this era of anything goes, hands-off deregulation, the ability to thwart state law claims means a lot to powerful corporate interests that don’t want to face juries.

And that’s how consumers get hurt.

The latest story is that now federal agencies are trying to grab power and extend preemption, claiming the right to do so. So when–for example–the FDA passes a rule that only federal standards regulate medical devices, the agency is grabbing power to claim preemption. Here is a more detailed account of how it’s being done.

What a sad and cynical world. At some point you have to conclude that this is just about greed. If you want to deregulate the world, then you have to have a means of giving injured consumers the ability to obtain compensation for their harms and losses. Or alternatively, you could create a truly effective safety scheme. But this current administration wants none of it. No regulations. No way for injured consumers to cover their harms and losses. No answering to a jury in court.

There’s that popular culture thingy–not really a saying, so much as a signifier, “Don’t worry; I’ve got your back.” It almost applies here, but you have to edit or tweak it just a tad to achieve accuracy. I worked on it some. Took some thought, actually. With a little re-working, it applies beautifully here. I’ve edited down to, “Worry.”

David Sugerman

Tags: injury, Portland injury lawyer, preemption, product safety