The fact is, there is no frivolous lawsuit crisis in America.
There are, the United States Geological Survey tells me, 3141 counties (or “county equivalents”) in the United States. Nearly all of those have at least 2 county court judges and courtrooms, and some have 50 or more. In addition, there are 89 Federal Court districts in the U.S., most of which have many, many individual courts.
I just don’t think there can be less than 5,000 courtrooms across America, most of them open 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. If each courtroom were to have even one trial every month, that would be 60,000 trials a year. And yet, when people are asked about frivolous lawsuits, most can only name one, the McDonald’s coffee case, which happened in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1994 – 19 years ago. 19 years times 60,000 trials per year means there have been 1,140,000 trials since that one.
Is there any human endeavor that gets it right more often than 1,139,999 times out of 1,140,000? Even if you throw in every other frivolous lawsuit that comes up (whether the case really happened or not) – the guy that trimmed his hedges with a lawnmower and got hurt, the burglar that tripped in his victims house and sued, the motorhome driver that set his rig on cruise control and walked back to get a drink and wanted a million bucks when the motorhome wrecked – let’s say there are 10 crazy suits that anyone can think of – that’s getting it right 1,139,990 times out of 1,140,000.
Can you name ONE lawsuit in your city or county that you think was frivolous? Can you name ONE suit against a doctor or hospital in your city or county that you think was unfair? Most people can’t – because there aren’t any.
If there were 98,000 frivolous lawsuits a year that resulted in the death of the person who got sued, would you think that was a crisis? Then why do so many people give the medical professions a pass when there is undeniable evidence from the Institute of Medicine that preventable medical errors kill as many as 98,000 Americans every year, and injure countless more?
There is, as far as I know, no reporting service for frivolous defense verdicts – cases the injured party lost even though there was no doubt the defendant was at fault and no doubt the plaintiff was injured as a result. Ask any trial lawyer about those, and she/he can tell you about their personal experience with many of them. It’s just not news when corporations or insurance companies beat back fair claims and escape accountability.
But the fear of frivolous lawsuits is about fear, not about facts. Fear by those in power that you will learn the facts. Fear that you will learn that corporations and insurance companies spend a fortune making jurors believe that they are being persecuted in the courtroom, when the only lawsuit crisis that really exists is the crisis of those who are trampled by the propaganda. Ever wonder why the ad campaigns run by Allstate, GEICO, State Farm, etc. never tell you ANYTHING about the product they are selling – insurance? Because they have learned that if you love the company, they will never have to pay what they promised their customers. If people did not have any right to file a lawsuit against doctors and hospitals, do you think medical care would get better or worse?
Lawsuits and the jury system are, by and large, the ONLY protection the average person has against the rich and powerful. Only the rich and powerful want you to believe that there is a “lawsuit crisis.” You believe them at your peril.
Jeff Boyd
