LETTER TO EDITOR: When injuries enrich

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Based on your story "Climate bill could trigger lawsuit landslide" (Page 1, April 10), one can't help but wonder if personal-injury lawyers are the latest recipients of the stimulus package.

The House energy bill provision highlighted in your article would create an entirely new type of lawsuit whereby citizens and lawyers could file claims against businesses and the federal government for any harm they have suffered or "expect to suffer" from climate change. This would be a boon to personal-injury lawyers, who certainly would find the possibilities for filing climate-change lawsuits limitless.

Anyone owning property along America's vast coastlines potentially could sue the federal government, and therefore the American taxpayer, as well as local businesses for receding shorelines they are experiencing or expect to experience in the future.

Setting aside the controversial aspects of the global warming argument, it seems clear that finding new ways to sue the government and our employers is a positive outcome - first and foremost - for the personal-injury bar. It is especially cynical that the crafters of this bill have chosen to fast-track its passage before Memorial Day without thorough discussion or debate.

If Congress wants tougher regulations to curb greenhouse gasses, it should pass them. If our representatives support an aggressive cap-and-trade proposal, they should debate the issue and vote on it. In the meantime, American employers are struggling in a tough economy, our federal deficit is ever growing, and our legal system already is clogged with frivolous lawsuits. Ultimately, this provision would enrich some personal-injury lawyers while forcing hardworking Americans to foot the bill.

TODD D. LAMB

Executive director

Maryland Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse

Annapolis