Lawsuit Abuse Bus Ads: Nonsense! Nonsense! Nonsense!

I just finished reading the latest article about this nonsensical idea of "lawsuit abuse". Apparently, a Maryland outfit calling itself the Maryland Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (i.e. the pro-big business Maryland Chamber of Commerce?) is now advertising on buses with the following message:

"Don’t Get Burned By Lawsuit Abuse"

The apparent strategy is that numerous legislators and civic leaders vacation in Ocean City, MD during the summer. The outfit (Chamber?) hopes that the campaign will be seen by them and "educate the public that frivolous lawsuits filed in the state’s judicial system adversely effect more than just the plaintiff and the defendant". They claim to fear that "Lawsuit Abuse" increases medical costs and scares doctors away from their practices It is an old and tiresome argument. It is also Nonsense! Nonsense! Nonsense!

“Personal injury lawyers who make their living off of claims like this often encourage people to sue even if they aren’t injured and unfortunately, when someone has a legitimate claim, it takes a very long time to get their day in court and eventual justice because the system is clogged with ridiculous lawsuits.”

This is a direct quote from the executive director of the ‘Maryland Citizens’. Now I ask InjuryBoard Members and members of the public who are reading this post: InjuryBoard is made up, predominantly, of lawyers who practice in or around the personal injury legal arena. How many lawyers who practice law on a contngency fee basis and pay for litigation costs out of their own funds would file a "frivolous" lawsuit? How many lawyers who practice law on a contingency fee basis and pay for litigation costs out of their own pockets ‘encourage people to sue even if they aren’t injured’? The answer is: ZERO! But, don’t take my word for it; use your own common sense. What is the incentive for a lawyer spending his own money and getting paid on a contingency fee basis to file an essentially worthless action?

As the 38 year veteran lawyer featured in the article says, our system of justice has built in curbs to prevent the filing or pursuit of frivolous suits. Lawyers who bring and pursue frivolous lawsuits can be punished or fined for bringing them and pursuing them. A frivolous lawsuit costs only a bad lawyer money in fees, costs and fines. It costs doctors, product makers, and insurance companies nothing. What does cost doctors and insurance company large amounts of money, you ask? Again, the answer is obvious to anyone with any common sense: Serious lawsuits about serious injuries and life-changing circumstances caused by serious breaches of conduct or neglect, by doctors or product makers against innocent members of the public should result in serious verdicts for the plaintiffs who bring them. Why scream "lawsuit abuse"? Why argue that ‘frivolous’ lawsuits are expensive? Because the ‘tort-reformers’ want you to think that serious lawsuit are ‘frivolous’. What will that kind of thinking do to society? Instead of private insurance companies paying for the victims of serious injuries caused by serious safety breaches (as they should), public funds (in the form of welfare, medicaid,medicare or other publicly funded program) will be required. This will increase your taxes. It is nothing more than a corporate bailout or corporate welfare. Is that what we want? Haven’t we seen enough of that? What happened to personal responsibility?

America: Do not be fooled by this charade. It is well financed, well marketed, and well publicized. But, it is ill conceived. Why? Because it is based on a false premise, the ‘big lie’, as I have called it. Large amounts of money are not being handed out on ‘frivolous’ lawsuits. That is the rule. Are there some silly sounding exceptions? Sure there are, but they are still ‘exceptions’ and they are few and far between. When you investigate, even some of the silly sounding cases are not as silly as they sound. State and national chambers of commerce represent big business interests. They do not represent the people. When you are seriously injured or disabled, a trial lawyer will stand up for your rights and pursue them; he/she will pursue justice on your behalf, spending his/her own money in the process and wait to paid from funds his/her hard work make possible.

If you know a trial lawyer or have utilized the service of a trial lawyer at some point in your life, give him/her a call and a ‘thank you’ for serving the cause of justice for the "little guy" against big-business interests and organizations, like the one in Maryland, whose sole purpose is to restrict your right to protection from harm. Lawsuit Financial and I are taking a well-publicized stand against these dangerous organizations and the "big lie" being spewed by the tort reformers. So is InjuryBoard. Join with us. Call your senator, congressman, state senator or representative and tell them that you are for an individual’s right to pursue justice in America and against the nonsense of preventing access to justice by disguising it with words like ‘frivolousness’ or ‘abuse’. Be safe out there.