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From: mmar@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Mitchell Marks)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: re: excessive liability claims
Message-ID: <933@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 3-Aug-85 01:08:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: sphinx.933
Posted: Sat Aug  3 01:08:12 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Aug-85 09:08:03 EDT
Organization: U Chicago -- Linguistics Dept
Lines: 41

I was unable to reply by e-mail, but as it's relevant to a current discussion
I hope the author won't mind if I post it along with my reply.


>   If you honestly believe liability claims are resonable are you aware that 1 
> dollar out of every 6 in the price of new aircraft goes to pay for the
> liability suits.  And are you aware that half of the cost of your pediatrician's
> care is to cover his liability insurance!
>    
>             -- David Burleson


Well, DB, certainly you have a point, but I don't think it addresses exactly
the same one I was making.  You point out that the present system results
in increased prices for, e.g., aircraft and medical care; we could generalize
and say that there are unfortunate consequences, and that they are in part
borne by the general public which was not at fault.
	Okay, but what then?  I agree with you, and I guess it amounts to
a good case for saying that the system should be changed, somehow.  But
it does not in any way bear on the issue of whether the individual plaintiffs
are getting excessive awards.
	Consider the more quotidian example of automobile insurance.  If
someone hits you and you're injured, the law provides a way for you to
get compensation for your injuries.  No amount of argument about the slow
lumbering expensive system would really bear on the justice of your
receiving compensation for your injuries.  Those arguments might bear on
adopting a no-fault system or something like that, and perhaps the
concept can be adapted and extended into other areas of liability.  But
don't lay the problems at the doorstep of the victims who seek relief.
	also remember that there's two sides.  Legal fees and incidental
costs go also to defendants' attorneys.  They have the option of settling
the claims out of court; so don't blame the congestive volume of litigation
all on the plaintiffs' side.

regards,
Mitch Marks

-- 

            -- Mitch Marks @ UChicago 
               ...ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!mmar