In 2013, Connecticut native and iconic consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced he would open an American Museum of Tort Law in his hometown of Winsted. Last year, construction began, as the project obtained necessary zoning permits to renovate the former Savings Bank of Winsted into display space that, Nader suggested, might hold exhibits highlighting famous lawsuits linked to scalding McDonald’s coffee, flammable pajamas and exploding Ford Pintos.
And now the concept is one step closer to reality, as the museum has named an executive director. Nader has selected Richard Newman, a trial lawyer who practiced with the Bridgeport-based firm of Adelman Hirsch & Newman, now known as Adelman Hirsch & Connors. Newman is the co-author of the standard treatise on Connecticut Law of Torts and served in 2004-05 as president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association.
