Smoking has long been thought to cause a number of serious health problems, but most cigarette companies often deceived the public and the government about the true danger of their products. In fact, after decades of marketing cigarettes as safe, even healthy, the truth began to trickle out. By 2006, a Florida Supreme Court adopted a number of findings that will form the foundation of further smoking litigation cases. These findings include:
Florida Supreme Court, No. SC03-1856 Engle vs. Liggett Group, page 8 • At present, the nicotine found in tobacco is deemed to be addictive • The defendants (i.e. the cigarette and tobacco companies) made available defective cigarettes that were “unreasonably dangerous" • The defendants intentionally mislead smokers with deliberately false statements intended to deceive them about the dangers of smoking • Defendants prevented their customers from learning about the health effects and addictive nature of cigarettes by deliberately concealing and omitting material that would have helped them form a better understanding of the risks of smoking.
While the class action ruling against tobacco companies de-certified and dismissed, this is actually beneficial to individual smokers because now they can file lawsuits on their own behalf to recover extensive damages.
Florida smokers are in a unique position to capitalize on this recent decision. While the initial objective of the Florida smokers class action lawsuit was to allow large groups of smokers to band together and get compensation for their injuries and hardship, individual lawsuits can now actually provide more restitution for victims of the greed and deception of tobacco companies.
The laws surrounding Florida tobacco law are intentionally confusing and complicated. The tobacco companies hope that the perceived difficulties of these legal actions will frustrate and deter victims from pursing the proper avenues for justice. The labor and work of dedicated legal professionals means that it is easier than ever to file a claim in Florida, but there is only a limited amount of time for potential litigants to take action.
The Florida Supreme Court has settled the issue that smoking is dangerous and tobacco companies intentionally misled the public about the dangers of smoking. The time for justice is at hand.
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