Strange bedfellows

That would be Newport Beach plaintiffs attorneys Mark Robinson and Kevin Calcagnie, who use the Toyota mess to point out the importance of trial lawyers, especially when the government is not doing an effective job of protecting consumers. Robinson and Calcagnie make their points on the oped page of the WSJ, not normally their kind of stomping ground. They maintain that when government fails, a plaintiffs lawsuit isn't such a bad idea (as you might imagine, Toyota is already faced with a ton of litigation). Piece is headlined: "Why we need trial lawyers."

Litigation has not only advanced public safety, but has encouraged improvement in products almost too numerous to mention: air bags, seat belts, child safety seats, tires, minivan doors, hot water vaporizers, children's pajamas, farm machinery, firearms, building materials, tobacco products, intra-uterine contraceptive devices, tampons, sleeping pills, anti-depressants, pain medication, appetite suppressants and many more. Toyota is just another sign of how much work remains to be done. Strong product liability laws remain vital to public health and safety--no matter how passionate the political debate on tort reform.

Meanwhile, Toyota and the feds continue taking their lumps before a Congressional panel. Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns says that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration "failed the taxpayers and Toyota failed their customers."