Weaponized Lawsuits

Lawsuits offer endless opportunities to allow others to attack us.  The strategy is to file a lawsuit, knowing that no judge will stop it and it will need to be responded to.  The Defendant in any lawsuit always wants to know the basis of the lawsuit.  Most Defendants hire their own Attorney to respond and this costs money, like $200 per hour.  So, you have two Lawyers billing for each minute they spend in your behalf.  The judges are also lawyers, so you have the foxes guarding the henhouse.

It would be to our benefit as citizens to be able to have the judge screen these lawsuits and deny lawsuits to be filed if no case is apparent.  Congress is always promising to outlaw frivolous lawsuits, but they never do.  The American Bar Association is a lobby that will ensure that Lawyers continue to be able to make as much money as they like.

Lawyers will tell you that the judicial system does not protect us.  It simply offers a very expensive method to “peacefully resolve disputes”. 

Malpractice case settlements are often in the millions of dollars. Malpractice insurance is a major cost to Physicians and their staffs. The fact that all Providers are subject to these lawsuits gives them the incentive to direct your treatment based on their Lawyer’s advice, not your medical necessity. Unnecessary tests and referrals are common in “defensive medicine” and have added to the cost of healthcare, which is not unsustainable. Before Lawyers wanted a piece of the healthcare dollar, Providers were disciplined by their County Associations and they had their licenses suspended and revoked. If there are “damages” that can be quantified, these could be settled in civil court, but the millions paid for “pain and suffering” are only there to fatten the Lawyers’ wallets.

Predatory large companies often use lawsuits to attack their competitors and those with bigger legal budgets always win. The only reason defending organizations settle frivolous lawsuits is to reduce their own legal bills. This fleecing is encouraged by the “legal cabal”. It is similar to pleading guilty to a “reduced charge” even when you are totally innocent.  We deserve better.

The “looser pays all costs” is a good principle to help discourage abuse.  In the old days, the wealthy ranchers with the biggest troop of gun-slingers could terrorize smaller ranchers to sell out.  The Plaintiff’s Law Firms have replaced the gun-slingers. Fewer people get shot under the new system, but the costs are unsustainable.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader