Week of September 20, 2004

 BRINGING COMMON SENSE BACK TO OUR LEGAL SYSTEM
Whether you realize it or not, frivolous lawsuits have touched your life. Maybe you’ve never sued or been sued, but it is estimated that each and every one of us pays at least a thousand dollars a year in higher prices directly related to lawsuits.

Lawsuits have become very popular in modern America. In the last three decades, the number of federal lawsuits have nearly tripled. It's hard to believe some of the lawsuits are real. For instance, a New York woman was using a knife to separate a package of frozen hors d'oeuvres she bought at the grocery store. The knife slipped and she cut her hand. With the help of a trial lawyer, she sued. She sued the grocery store, she sued the knife manufacturer, she sued the packager.

Or take the man who, after enjoying a few drinks at a Colorado wedding reception, went to use a pay phone outside. While on the phone, he lost his balance, fell over a railing and landed in the stairwell below. He broke his neck and is now paralyzed. Guess who he sued? Was it the hotel where the reception was located? No. Was it the host of the reception? No. He sued the phone company and actually won more than a million dollars. 

Trial lawyers will tell you that they are there to protect the little guy from big, rich, evil corporations. They tell you that businesses can afford to pay millions of dollars in punitive damages, even if they were not directly at fault for someone's misfortune. The truth is that million-dollar awards come out of your pocket in the form of higher prices. The truth is that most of those million-dollar awards go into the pockets of trial lawyers.

Just the threat of frivolous lawsuits means higher prices for just about everything. As much as $500 may be added to the price of your new car because of litigation costs. Add $20 on the price of a step ladder. If you have a baby, you can figure about $500 will be added to your hospital bill to pay for liability costs. This is the real problem of lawsuit abuse.

There is good news: The House of Representatives passed legislation this month to curb frivolous lawsuits. The legislation will make it harder to file the frivolous lawsuits and will make it harder on attorneys who file the suits. This will encourage people to pursue lawsuits only when they have a legitimate case. 

The legal reforms the House passed are designed to unclog our judicial system so it serves the right people. Our judicial system should serve the citizens, not the trial lawyers.