Is this a trend?

[Madmoonie]

Was it Shakespeare who said "Kill all the lawyers?"

[Shyal_malkes]

from HOOK:

PETER:where are all the adults?

RUFIO:the only adults here are pirats, we kill pirats

PETER:well I'm not a pirate, I'm a lawyer.

RUFIO: ...kill the lawyer!

[Maxgoof]

Or as Mark Twain said:

It was the kind of town where a single lawyer would go starving but two would make a very nice living.

[Jrynd1]

someone I know was empaneled in a civil jury. The case was someone who got seriously injured as a result of a medical procedure gone wrong. My friend heard testimony that clearly proved that the doctor was not at fault -- s/he had taken all necessary precautions. It was just a fluke. But the person had lost his/her job as a result of the injury, and had no means of supporting himself/herself. S/he couldn't afford COBRA and had no chance of getting other insurance, other than Medicaid once his/her assets were depleted. One got the impression that s/he was suing to try to be able to survive!

The doctor's insurance company offered to settle, and the plaintiff accepted. If the case had proceeded the insurer certainly would have won and the plaintiff would have been doomed.

Was the patient filing a "frivolous" lawsuit? Probably. Did the settlement of the lawsuit increase all doctor's liability premiums? Definitely. But it was an inevitable consequence of how the health care system in the US is set up: all it takes is one or two things to go wrong and you've got no hope.

[Lee M]

Oy, let's not drag Mexico into this...

If Fox News is to be believed (a very big If, to be sure) you won't have to drag Mexico anywhere because half of Mexico is coming to the States.

[The JAM]

Hey, good one!

[Maxgoof]

someone I know was empaneled in a civil jury. The case was someone who got seriously injured as a result of a medical procedure gone wrong. My friend heard testimony that clearly proved that the doctor was not at fault -- s/he had taken all necessary precautions. It was just a fluke. But the person had lost his/her job as a result of the injury, and had no means of supporting himself/herself. S/he couldn't afford COBRA and had no chance of getting other insurance, other than Medicaid once his/her assets were depleted. One got the impression that s/he was suing to try to be able to survive!

The doctor's insurance company offered to settle, and the plaintiff accepted. If the case had proceeded the insurer certainly would have won and the plaintiff would have been doomed.

Was the patient filing a "frivolous" lawsuit? Probably. Did the settlement of the lawsuit increase all doctor's liability premiums? Definitely. But it was an inevitable consequence of how the health care system in the US is set up: all it takes is one or two things to go wrong and you've got no hope.

Let me paint another scenario:

A man is taking a walk through a national park, doing nothing wrong. A branch from a tree, weakened by a recent storm, breaks free, falling on the man's head, and snapping his neck. Fortunately, he is found in a few hours. He is not dead, but he is paralyzed from the neck down.

The man loses his job, has no insurance, and now, no means of support.

Who does he sue?

Bad things happen to good people all the time. But the one thing we *MUST* do as a society, if we are to survive, is to stop punishing blameless people just because someone else is suffering.

[UncleMonty]

someone I know was empaneled in a civil jury. The case was someone who got seriously injured as a result of a medical procedure gone wrong. My friend heard testimony that clearly proved that the doctor was not at fault -- s/he had taken all necessary precautions. It was just a fluke. But the person had lost his/her job as a result of the injury, and had no means of supporting himself/herself. S/he couldn't afford COBRA and had no chance of getting other insurance, other than Medicaid once his/her assets were depleted. One got the impression that s/he was suing to try to be able to survive!

The doctor's insurance company offered to settle, and the plaintiff accepted. If the case had proceeded the insurer certainly would have won and the plaintiff would have been doomed.

Was the patient filing a "frivolous" lawsuit? Probably. Did the settlement of the lawsuit increase all doctor's liability premiums? Definitely. But it was an inevitable consequence of how the health care system in the US is set up: all it takes is one or two things to go wrong and you've got no hope.

Let me paint another scenario:

A man is taking a walk through a national park, doing nothing wrong. A branch from a tree, weakened by a recent storm, breaks free, falling on the man's head, and snapping his neck. Fortunately, he is found in a few hours. He is not dead, but he is paralyzed from the neck down.

The man loses his job, has no insurance, and now, no means of support.

Who does he sue?

Bad things happen to good people all the time. But the one thing we *MUST* do as a society, if we are to survive, is to stop punishing blameless people just because someone else is suffering.

As I think you were pointing out, and agree wholeheartedly...He shouldn't sue anyone, of course. While our system of health care is no more perfect than it has to be, there are means and charities, both public and private, to help the accident victim.
A recent study showed that 70 percent of the population in this town I call home are receiving at least some "assistance" from various government agencies.
And most of them should be much less needy or deserving than your hypothetical accident-prone tourist.

Unfortunately, in real life, the fellow would probably sue the state and national government, and win. He would get a generous payoff, and his lawyer would too.