They will pinch their noses and support the Bill in the hopes of gaining a camel's nose under the tent. In other words, we're next. The enactment of such legislation would mean an unprecedented erosion of rights in a State which can be distinguished from others by the lack of vehicles through which a victim can seek fair redress through the courts. Most States allow a Plaintiff to place a value on non-economic damages before a Jury during summation. Not so in the Commonwealth.
Many States have punitive damages available when big business acts in an unconscionable manner.
Massachusetts has only the Wrongful Death Statute and the limited framework of Chapter 93A for such purposes. Unlike other States, Massachusetts law includes caps on damages regarding hospitals and municipalities, often leaving a deserving Plaintiff with far less of a recovery than can be considered fair. Massachusetts still does not allow for attorney-conducted Voir Dire, practiced in practically every other State in the Nation. To the lay person, the abolition of joint and several liability may sound like a non-essential technicality. To the intellectually honest attorney, however, it represents the elimination of a critical element in the fragile balance of justice which we have achieved and maintained for over a century here in the Commonwealth.