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So much for doing the right thing!

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judow

judow

Darth Vader - R.I.P
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<Geeze?!?!> /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif Like they say, "No good deed goes un punished."
 
It's the two sides of human nature. People will still go out of their way in emergency situations to help total strangers, and do many heroic things. And afterwords other people will continue to attempt to maximize whatever profit they can take from any tragic event. One can only hope that they are personally one of the helpers, and not one of the takers.
 
they should have done it in Greenwich - more money there.

<edit> more lawyers too, so perhaps not...
 
A few of points:

1. I don't know about Conn., but here (in Indiana) there is immunity for rescue efforts. The design of the roadway is another matter for which there is limited immunity, but some kinds of these suits could go forward (as to the rroadway design).

2. There are plenty of A-hole lawyers out there, but there are also A-hole doctors, engineers, mechanics, cashiers, etc. The A-hole lawyers seem to seek...and get the media attention.

3. Lawyers don't bring the lawsuits in a vacuum- blame the lawyers (they have a significant part), but understand that the family had to seek out a lawyer and sign on for a lawsuit. A lawyer cannot bring a lawsuit without a client who wants it brought.

4. In the past several years, I and my colleagues in my firm have defended literally hundreds of cases, many of which some of you may consider frivolous, and prevented payouts where there should be none. That seldom (if ever) makes the paper because newspapers like headlines with "millions" in the title or where they get to make someone look bad and uncaring. When a doctor, hospital, business, or whatever did everything right, no one seems to care. It's not sexy.
 
"...he left the Explorer in gear and had his foot on the brake when his foot slipped off the pedal, hitting the gas. The vehicle lunged forward and Hauser tried to hit the brake, but hit the gas pedal again instead..."

The town should sue him for breaking their fence. Ford should sue him for operating their product without the ability to do so safely. The American people should sue him for lack of common sense.

If this were a heart-felt law suit, they would be suing to get a new barrier installed, not for a million dollars.
 
lawguy said:
2. There are plenty of A-hole lawyers out there, but there are also A-hole doctors, engineers, mechanics, cashiers, etc. The A-hole lawyers seem to seek...and get the media attention.
Click to expand...

Yes, but the a-hole doctors/engineers/mechanics et al usually aren't clogging up the courts with their a-holedness.

lawguy said:
3. Lawyers don't bring the lawsuits in a vacuum- blame the lawyers (they have a significant part), but understand that the family had to seek out a lawyer and sign on for a lawsuit. A lawyer cannot bring a lawsuit without a client who wants it brought.
Click to expand...

Err so what are 'ambulance chasers' and how does one go about seeking them out? Are they listed in the phone book?

lawguy said:
4. In the past several years, I and my colleagues in my firm have defended literally hundreds of cases, many of which some of you may consider frivolous, and prevented payouts where there should be none. That seldom (if ever) makes the paper because newspapers like headlines with "millions" in the title or where they get to make someone look bad and uncaring. When a doctor, hospital, business, or whatever did everything right, no one seems to care. It's not sexy.
Click to expand...

And there is the problem. In a sensible world you wouldn't have this problem. With some form of Tort reform the problem could be eliminated. With some sense of personal responisibility this would be eliminated or at least minimised.

This isn't a personal attack btw.

I just think that there is something wrong with a system that even allows, let alone encourages, this form of suit. Even if one were to be in the position of defending said suit, one would still getting paid so what incentive does one have to change it? It's making a living, right?
 
It's easy to say that an individual lawsuit is "frivolous" and should be dismissed, but who gets to make that decision?

- An elected judge?
- An appointed judge?
- some administrator beholden to a politician?

Then, even if you have someone to make the decision, where is the line? Define frivolous and non-frivolous in a way that will produce consistent and predictable results.

As for tort reform- I'm all in favor, I really am...now what do we mean by "tort reform"?

This is a great issue for demagogery, harder for the people who must deal with this on a daily basis.

Like it or not (this coming from a guy woth a 98% defense practice), lawsuits make your hospitals, cars, schools, homes, streets and everthing else safer. Doubt it? I can give you examples.

I agree that the lawsuit cited above is just plain wrong. I also have seen enough lawsuits to know that there is a 90%+ chance that it will turn out the way it should.

the reason why "outrageous" verdicts make the news is because they are news and not common. Is some "reform" called for? Yep, I agree (Indiana has had "medical malpractice reform" for over 30 years), but figuring out just what that should be while preserving the suits that should be brought is not a simple task.
 
This (the original post) is the reason I like "Good Samaritan" laws. Prevents the helpers from being sued by the helpee. IF I'm not mistaken, FL has a "Good Samaritan" Law.

The Jacksonville Article leaves me with the feeling that there may have been some ~other~ underlying problems the company may have had with the employee, and just used the "brandishing a weapon" bit as an excuse to let him go.
 
The ambulance chasers that I get tired of are the ones who advertise on TV for class action suits. We all know why lawyers like those get rich schemes...
 
Basil said:
98 percent of Lawyers give the rest a bad reputation.
Click to expand...

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif
 
Well, I get along with several, not just mine. I must be defective. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

Heck, I pro'lly could even get along with you, James. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
I doubt it. My own clients just tolerate me...and then only because I'm soooooooo good. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Reardon said it's common for spouses and family members to sue each other following car accidents in order to collect insurance. [/QUOTE]

Sounds like a recipe for a rip-off...

Gee, dear, why don't we have a little accident and generate some cash flow....
 
Sue the family for the cost of the rescue. What would the family do if the resuers gave up and the Grandmother died? I feel the real solutoion is the age old joke and the lawyer should be at the bottom of the lake. (good start).
 
Maybe I’ve worked too long in the film business, but it sounds like a bad movie-of-the-week. Husband and wife conspire to kill mother by driving SUV into river. Husband leaves car in gear and shows mother pretty birds. While mother is distracted, he guns the car through a part of the fence that his wife had cut earlier that week. He escapes and leaves his mother-in-law to the depths, but doesn’t count on the research vessel being at the scene. That night the husband and wife argue about not being able to collect on the will. What to do? Lets sue everyone so no one will think we tried to kill anyone. Cut! PRINT!
 
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