JUNK LAWSUITS?
Over the last several months, a variety of television programs and advertisements have taken aim at trial lawyers and their clients, suggesting that suing has become an American pastime and that the system is full of frivolous suits. What was once a noble profession has been ridiculed to the point of causing lawyers and their clients to be looked upon as little better than “bottom feeders” whose only motivation in life is greed.
Sure, we’ve all heard lawyer jokes told, and we’ve even laughed at them. For every profession there is some lighthearted ribbing and lawyers are no different. In fact, a lawyer that can’t find some humor in the profession probably needs to lighten up.
Just because we can joke about our profession, however, doesn’t mean that every negative comment you hear or negative ad you see should be taken as the absolute truth. Many times, the negative ads are made as part of an attempt to convince the public to limit liability for corporate misconduct. If they are successful, corporations might just be able to step on the little guy and get away with it...ALL THE TIME.
Some of the most famously misunderstood cases involve people suing for what looks like their own stupidity. Only half of the story is ever really told, however, because that is the only half that gets people “fired up” against the system. In reality, these cases were ultimately brought and tried over much bigger issues.
The McDonald’s suit is frequently used as an example. What the corporation wants you to know is that a woman filed suit against McDonald’s after she spilled coffee in her lap. Of course, without knowing more of the story, we might all say to ourselves, “Wow, was that a dumb place to put coffee!” That’s exactly what the corporation wants you to think. They omit the remaining details, which might affect the way we view the suit. In reality, the lady, Ms. Stella Liebeck, was 79 years old. She received third degree burns over 16% of her body. She was hospitalized for eight days and was required to undergo extensive medical treatment, including skin grafting. She attempted to settle her claim with McDonald’s for $20,000.00, which may or may not have covered all of her medical expenses. Clearly, this suit was not about money. McDonald’s, however, refused to settle.
At trial, the jury was informed that McDonald’s coffee was, per corporate policy, sold at superheated temperatures (180-190 degrees). Coffee at that temperature, if spilled, will cause third degree burns in which the skin is burned away down to the muscle and fatty tissue in 2-7 seconds. Furthermore, McDonald’s admitted that it knew about the risk of serious burns for more than 10 years prior to the incident and that the risk had been brought to its attention through numerous other claims and suits involving men, women, children and infants, some instances being due to spillage by McDonald’s employees.
When considering fault, the jury did determine that Ms. Liebeck had some fault for her injuries. In fact, they thought she was 20% at fault, and reduced her compensatory recovery from $200,000 to $160,000 as a result. The jury awarded punitive damages of $2.7 million, however, because of McDonald’s conscious disregard of the risk.
To put this number in perspective, revenue from one day’s worth of coffee sold by McDonald’s at the time of the suit was $1.3 million. Ultimately, Ms. Liebeck did not receive the amount of money that she was awarded by the jury. The judge reducedthe punitive damages from $2.3 million to $480,000.00 (roughly 20% of the original figure). The case finally settled for even less.
MORE LAWSUITS?
Corporate America would also have you believe that lawyers and their clients always want to sue and that the number of suits in court are dramatically increasing. This could not be further from the truth. First of all, most clients aren’t looking to sue anybody. They just want to know what they can do to protect their rights. Usually they only see a lawyer once something has gone wrong. They don’t keep lawyers at their beck and call, and they don’t run out and file suit for every little problem. To the contrary, most of the people who end up bringing suit have exhausted all of their other options. They have tried to deal forthrightly with the wrongdoer and have been met with callous disregard. They are looking for a way to be compensated for their significant losses. Many have been forced to deal with a life change as a result of a person’s or a company’s negligence or reckless disregard. To believe the publicity, one would have to believe that there are clients who would rather have money than lost limbs or the opportunity to provide for their families. This simply is not the case.
In fact, according to the Rand Corporation, only 10% of injured Americans even file a claim for compensation, which includes informal demands and insurance claims. Two percent file lawsuits. The number of personal injury suits are steadily decreasing. In fact, tort filings have dropped 18% since 1996.
WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
Approximately 104,000 motor vehicle accidents occurred in the year 2000 alone, with an average of three fatalities per day. South Carolina has now been ranked as a state having one of the highest drunk driving fatality percentages in the nation. In 1997 alone, South Carolina’s workforce filed 75,615 workers’ compensation claims. In a relatively recent case, a jury was informed that a pharmacy in South Carolina was aware of some 2,900 mis-filled prescriptions over the span of one year. The point, quite simply, is that South Carolina is a dangerous place to live, and we’re not even talking about the crime rate! It is likely that either you or someone you know will be one of South Carolina’s many statistics.
If the people generating all of the negative advertising are successful, a jury’s ability to punish the wrongdoer will be very limited. Worse yet, your ability to recover for any manner of injuries, from a work injury to injuries sustained because you were hit by a drunk driver, will be severely limited. Limits on liability could leave you with a mountain of bills and nobody to reimburse you...FOR SOMETHING THAT YOU DID NOT DO.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I AM INJURED?
Talk to a lawyer about your situation. Find a lawyer who will represent you ethically and responsibly. All lawyers have a code of ethics to which they are bound. They all have a duty to the court not to file or continue frivolous suits. They should stand up for clients who have real problems and be willing to take on a just cause.
We at Hall & Landers know that our clients have real problems that require real solutions. The suits we file aren’t frivolous. There are real people out there who have been hurt because of someone else’s negligence or callous disregard.
At Hall & Landers, we believe in the nobility of our profession, and we are committed to ethical representation of our clients. Just like thousands of other lawyers across the country, if we don’t think you have a case, we will tell you. You deserve to be dealt with frankly and honestly and to know what options we really think are available to you. If we think you might have a case, we will be happy to discuss it with you.
