Tort Reform in China?

Talk about the need for Tort reform. Tort lawyers get a bad rap, but here is an example of where at least a little tort justice is warranted, in my opinion.

"For reasons to do with China’s still-developing law and its authoritarian political system, lawyers are treading carefully around the Sanlu incident, in which four babies have died and nearly 53,000 suffered kidney problems after drinking adulterated powdered milk. // The 1986 principles of Chinese tort law do not allow citizens to claim damages for moral or spiritual suffering – what US lawyers call "pain and suffering" – only material damages to compensate for medical bills, for example. That is changing, however, and Chinese courts are increasingly granting moral damages. Four years ago two families from the province of Anhui won damages from another infant formula manufacturer whose substandard milk powder was blamed for their babies' malnutrition. Neither won more than $4,300 for their pain and suffering, however, which is hardly a large sum for major milk producers such as Sanlu. "Damages are so low in China that companies can get away with it," says Dan Harris, partner in the Seattle law firm HarrisMoure, which specializes in Chinese business law. "Why bother to recall if only 20 people are going to sue you and win $20,000 each?"" What China's tainted milk may not bring: lawsuits | csmonitor.com