I'm not totally for tort reform.....and I'm not totally against a remedy for those stupid, frivolous lawsuits!

I've never really blamed the lawyers for "trying to scam" a large company through the legal system. Those large companies have lawyers too! And so be it as to the best lawyer wins. (Is that an oxymoron?) I totally blame the judges who even temporarily entertain the "oh so obvious scams" and lunacy of the audacity of some of these lawyers and what they bring to a system meant for "true" cases of hardship.........and not personal stupidity!

Oh geezzzzzz! I hope that made sense....cause it did when I thought it!

Tort reform.......I agree.......would punish the true cases as well as the frivolous cases. But the system works in reverse too.

Quick story......I had a friend who bashed into the back of a Ford Pinto while it was stopped at a stop sign. YES it was HIS fault for not stopping in time. Yes it was an accident. Slippery road on black ice. And NO, no drugs or alcohol were involved. Accidents happen......but when they happen to the ass end of a Pinto........the Pinto blows up. Why? Ford Motor Company......in all it's wisdom.......put the gas tank in the ass end of the Pinto. Nothing of the car body to protect it....just out there asking to be blown to smitherines. They don't do this with any of the cars since the Pinto........Hmmmmm? Wonder why? Anyway......so much for the short story.....LOL!....anyway.........my friend was burned beyond recognition but lived. He looked like the lead in the Phantom of the Opera.....no....probably 1000 times worse! The fire burnt his lips away.....and his front teeth too. He had no more ear lobes and his eyebrows and lashes were gone. Somehow his eyelids remained but were burnt so bad he could never close his eyes all the way when he slept and he had to wear sunglasses even in the house because the lights would constantly make his eyes water. His left hand was burned away to a nub to his wrist. His chest was a mass of scars. He could never get an erection again but somehow his penis remained and he could urinate from it. It too was burned very badly though. His legs weren't burnt as badly but all the way to his toes you could find some mark of the fire. I know because he became a major alcoholic a couple of years after this incident (and after the failed lawsuit) and stripped totally naked once at a party. He tried to sue Ford for damages........and ya know what their lawyers said? It was your fault Mickey.....for hitting the ass end of that Pinto! His lawsuit wasn't for his stupidity and he was fined greatly from the state of N.J. for careless driving already. He lost his license and demolished his own car and could never work again......but he was BURNED BEYOND RECOGNITION.....not because HE was careless........but because FORD WAS! If he had hit any other car he would have at least had a chance to obtain his skin and limbs and body parts. But their lawyers had more time and money to beat this man further into the ground than he would ever have the time and money to fight back with. And Mickey NEVER recieved a penny for his permenant disability (except from the state as is the case of permanent disability in the the state of N.J) and he lived for 5 more years after the failed attempt at collecting what I feel was RIGHTFULLY his! Ironically.....as I stated a moment ago.....he became an alcoholic and while drunk on his mothers sofa (as he was reduced to moving back home with mom) he fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand and burned his mother and himself and their house to the ground!

OK.....so my point? How can this incident above go by the wayside when........in an incident.....Yes a highly publicized and more recent case, but pertaining to a major corporation...........like the case of the woman that spilled hot coffee on herself after (stupidly) putting it between her legs and driving away from the drive-thru of McDonalds.........entitle HER to mounds of money? It was HER fault that SHE put hot coffee between her legs! OK....it was McDonald's fault that the coffee was hot......but come on, duh! personified! Now I feel like an ass everytime I get a coffee from McDonalds and see that warning on the cup. Who would expect cold coffee from McDonalds? And if she got cold coffee that day...would she have sued and won for that?

*EDIT FEATURE* Calm down Aqua! I saw you on line and I know your feelings from previous discussed McDonalds lawsuit......just needed a well publicized issue hun! LOL!

Maybe I got off the track here a bit Minotaur hun! But I do have a point about frivolous lawsuits! They have got to stop being entertained in a court system meant for the truly injured!

So...........how do I vote halfway? I don't want a cap on legitimate claims. Mickey might still be alive if he were able to follow through and Ford was found guilty of negligence. Many people have legitimate cases! I agree......but what's the answer to my round-about question? I can't stand another story of an asshole receiving millions for something you and I KNOW is beyond personal stupidity!

OK....who wants the pretty pink soap box now?

*steps down*

__________________
Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~