LAWSUIT ABUSE HURTS EVERYBODY

Governor Doyle's budget would force Wisconsin drivers to pay up to $300 a year more for car insurance. In addition his plan guts reforms that protect defendants who bear little responsibility for an accident. If the changes become law, someone who is barely connected to an accident could end up paying the entire amount of a lawsuit. The proposal known as "joint and several liability," means you pay for someone else's mistakes.

A recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial titled, "Doyle leading state back to judicial hell," had this to say about the Governor's plan:

"For the past decade, Wisconsin has said that each losing defendant is responsible for paying as much of the damages as he is at fault for. This is about to change back to the old standard, which was: Someone's got to pay, and you've got money."

For example, a drunk driver causes a horrific accident. Lawyers will search for someone else to sue with more insurance (and other assets), such as another driver or a property owner near the scene of the accident. If lawyers can prove that other party is even 1% at fault for the accident, they could end up paying for the entire jury award. A defendant without adequate insurance could be forced to sell their property, business or farm to pay for someone else's mistake.

Here are a just a few real life horror stories of lawsuit abuse:

What Makes a Doctor Sue an 11-Year Old Girl?

March 05, 2007 by
Lisa A. Mason

Bicycle/Skating Collision Gone Bad

Morristown, New Jersey - A trial is under way this week between a 54-year old doctor and a 15-year old freshman at West Morris-Mendham High School for an incident that happened back in 2003 when then the girl was just 11 years old.

The bicycling Dr. Alexander Dlugi is suing the girl, Lauren Ellis for damages abstained from a collision on their Chester Township street that evening in 2003. Ellis was on her inline skates and Dr. Dlugi was riding his bicycle when the accident occurred. Click here for more on this story

Justice needs to be served, but not at the expense of innocent people - that wouldn't be justice, would it?"

Charles Terrizzi
Chase Air
Jacksonville, FL

Because he wanted to pass a family business on to his son and two daughters, Charles Terrizzi started his own small company out of the converted garage behind his house. With five employees, Charles' start-up, Chase Air, installs air conditioners in homes in Jacksonville, Florida.

Last year, Charles was working in a customer's attic when he received a call from his service crew. He learned that a man crossed a yellow line and veered into oncoming traffic, hitting one of Chase Air's two vans head on. The police determined that the accident was the other driver's fault. But that didn't stop the ticketed driver from hiring a lawyer to file a claim with Charles' insurance, threatening to sue if they did not pay for the damages that, according to the police report, he himself caused.

Like they do with many other claims, the insurance company decided that, not withstanding the facts of the accident, it would be more costly to fight and win in court than simply to pay a settlement, so they gave the driver $10,000. Charles said, "The sad truth is that it's cheaper for [the insurer] to settle as if they did something wrong when they didn't do something wrong… Thus it's perpetuated that opportunistic lawyers can continue to do these things. They're made stronger when who's made weaker? The American people – the hardworking people."

In this case, Charles was right. After receiving the money from Charles' insurance company, the driver and his lawyers next sued the young man who was driving the Chase Air truck. That case is still ongoing. Click here for more on this story

Speaking about the cost of lawsuits to American businesses, whether in the form of higher insurance costs, out of court settlements, or expensive legal fees, Charles said, "All these things factor into our ultimate price to our consumers, and everybody has to pay for it."

According to Charles, not only do the costs of liability insurance and other legal fees drive up prices, but one lawsuit could easily put his small start-up company out of business. "Justice needs to be served, but not at the expense of innocent people – that wouldn't be justice, would it?"

Man Who Lost Leg in Drunk Subway Fall Gets $2.3M Settlement

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
By TOM NAMAKO and DAREH GREGORIAN

He got so drunk that he fell into the path of a subway train - costing him his right leg - but a Manhattan jury still awarded him $2.3 million after finding that NYC Transit was to blame.

Dustin Dibble, 25, of Brooklyn admitted he'd been boozing it up with friends for four hours before ending up on the tracks at the 14th Street Station with an N train bearing down on him. The impact took off his right leg just below the calf.

He had a .18 blood-alcohol level - more than double the legal limit if he were driving - at the time of the accident, according to hospital records.

Dibble admitted he was so blitzed he didn't remember anything about the 1:50 a.m. accident - including how he ended up on the tracks - but the jury still found he didn't bear the majority of the blame.

Click here for more on this story