The WRight Way
By Ron Wright
(Cazenovia, NY – Sept. 2014) The court waits patiently while the jury delivers its verdict on a personal injury case. Lots of potentials for certain. Let’s include the famous “pain and suffering” damages, for example. The jury has been convinced the defendant is a totally calloused party and should pay dearly. This ought to really ratchet up the award amount.
During trial how did arguments differentiate between the specific pain and the specific suffering? (No doubt legally defined, but if I hammer my thumb and it then totally heals within three months, what is the difference for me?)
So after believing the most convincing lawyer, the jury reports. Let’s see, how much for a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk outside the friendly grocery store? Was the store owner watching the thermometer? Did they use sidewalk salt or sand grit to improve traction? Did the injured party slip or trip? Could be a big difference.
Did the injured party use due diligence in avoiding a fall? What was the condition of the sole treads on the footwear being worn? Was it suitable for winter traction? Makes you wonder what would have happened if the fall had occurred on the plaintiff attorney’s icy sidewalk.
Some advertising now feature individuals bragging about the size of their awards. Almost makes you want to run out in the road and get hit so you can win the lottery, as well. Well, not really for me, anyway, but you get the picture. Since smoking and alcohol drinking advertising is no longer allowed on TV, can you think of other types deserving of prohibition?
Money time. How does $5,000 compare with $50,000 in damages? Or let’s get crazier and go for $500,000. Remember who always gets a big cut of the settlement. Also remember the jury members personally do not have to come up with those big settlement bucks. Somebody else does – most likely the insurer… The insurer who then passes on excessive costs to other policyholders, like you and me. Like the government, frugality goes out the window when it is not your own hard-earned money.
The mantra goes like, “Make Them Pay!” So who is “they”? It just comes back to society in general and individuals in particular. You and me again. Too bad there is no formula for a reasonable settlement. And administered by an impartial arbitrator or three-judge panel.
When you rely on the whim of a jury, you are taking a lot for granted. Maybe your peers or maybe not. Perhaps a number of jurors with agendas contrary to your interests. So how does the average jury with average educational backgrounds deal with Ph.D.-level expert witnesses speaking in lofty scientific terms? Or do they just let such testimony go flying by and allow their favorite eloquent lawyer to prevail?
And the pain thing again. Different people experience pain and express pain in different ways. One person may just “suck it up” and go on with life. Another may be a crybaby regardless of age or gender and let emotions carry them away. Or another may just be greedy or get greedier coaching and get really theatric. So should a jury pay on the volume of tears or the intensity of the cries of anguish? Should apparent emotional levels have an impact on verdict dollars?
When two different juries award vastly different sums for incidents of smoking-related cancer deaths, what is going on? The details of the cases can be very similar, but one estate is awarded $750,000 and the other $750 million.
When essentially the same situations are compensated at differences of 10 or 100 or 1,000 times, something is going on. In my opinion, probably one of the following: (a) Courtroom theatrics. (b) The best-looking or best-talking lawyer winning. (c) Jurors not certain whether a million or a billion is a bigger number, or by how much, but know they both rhyme with zillion.
Ron Wright of Cazenovia is a retiree with keen interest in his family, history, politics and his church. He began putting his thoughts on paper a little over a decade ago to share with family and friends. Ron, whose column appears the third edition each month, may be reached at madnews@m3pmedia.com.