According to the L.A. Times, in 1988 Tom DeLay's own father, comatose, brain-damaged, and kept alive by machines after a freak accident at home, was allowed to die by his family - without the interference of Congress or the President. Also, the DeLay family successfully sued the manufacturers of the "backyard tram" that had crashed, though the congressman would soon make a career of excoriating "frivolous, parasitic lawsuits" that "kill jobs":
 

Three years later, DeLay cosponsored a bill specifically designed to override state laws on product liability such as the one cited in his family's lawsuit. The legislation provided sweeping exemptions for product sellers.

The 1996 bill was vetoed by President Clinton, who said he objected to the DeLay-backed measure because it "tilts against American families and would deprive them of the ability to recover fully when they are injured by a defective product."