In the United States the number of cases where people sue
for damages or compensation for medical malpractice has grown
at an alarming rate. This US obsession with litigation seems
motivated by greed rather than the wish for justice.
An eighty year old woman sued MacDonalds take-away for damages
after she was scalded by the coffee. She was awarded $640,000.
A woman sued her vet for $1million because of the emotional stress
she suffered when he injured her pet iguana. A man who deliberately
jumped in front of a train in the New York subway sued the transport
company and won $650,000 damages because the train failed to
stop.
Thomas Wallace, a black American, claimed that he and his three
sons suffered emotional distress when they came across the word nigger in
their computer encyclopedia. Mr Wallace had typed the word nigger while
searching for information on the Niger River. The computer told
him that Joseph Conrad had written a novel in the 19th century
called Nigger of the Narcissus, and that Martin Luther
King had once been called a nigger by a white woman when he was
11 years old. Mr Wallace is now suing the encyclopedia company
for $40 million.
A British banker recently lost his job at a Canadian bank based
in New York. He is suing the bank, stating that he suffered mental
anguish because of his French boss's insistence on joking that
the English were bad lovers and lousy cooks. He is claiming $20
million in damages.
Eager lawyers
There are over 800,000 American lawyers (70%
of the world's total number), many of whom openly encourage such
lawsuits. A lawyer often takes on a lawsuit as a sort of gamble.
The lawyer enters an agreement with the client. If the client
loses, the lawyer forfeits the legal fee. If, however, the lawsuit
is won, the lawyer takes up to 50% of the amount awarded.
The consequences
Of course, the law on which such litigation is based was originally
promulgated to protect the public from, for example, dishonest
and irresponsible manufacturers or incompetent doctors. A highly
litigious environment has, however, developed. Many people have
lost their sense of personal responsibility ("if it hurts, sue")
and are ready to blame others for the slightest accident. Others
are cynically making a lot of money from the legal situation.
As a practical consequence, professional indemnity insurance
premiums have risen. Certain professions, especially those within
medicine, have become so risky that trainees fear to specialise.
And everyone hates lawyers!
Reform
The politicians are at last taking action. Recently the House
of Representatives passed a bill, the Common Sense Product Liability
and Legal Reform Act, which places a ceiling on punitive damages
in civil law suits and "pain and suffering" settlements in medical
malpractice suits. There has also been a change in the conditions
necessary to bring product liability cases. Now there must be
a "conscious and flagrant" disregard to consumers' safety. Moreover,
such a case must be brought within a time limit of up to 15 years
after the product launch. The bill also includes the "British
rule" which specifies that in some instances unsuccesful litigants
should pay the winners' legal fees. It seems that the legal lottery
will soon be over.
Reading for meaning
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