Legal Issues
Rutberg and Associates - We Keep Our Clients Well-Informed
At Rutberg & Associates, we believe in keeping up to date in all areas of law, including the many legal issues surrounding today's courtroom. The media presents many false statements regarding tort law and the current battle over Tort Reform. Our firm is dedicated to keeping clients informed on all legal issues. For more information on current legal issues, visit the pages below.
Mcdonald's
Scalding Coffee Case
Debunking
Urban Legends About the Civil Justice System
Myths
and FACTS About the Civil Justice System
Tort
Filing and Trial Statistics 2000
A
Look Behind Newsweek's Series 'Lawsuit Hell'
The
TRUTH About The Civil Justice System
Tort
Reform - Those Damn Trial Lawyers
"Tort reform threatens right to sue" Poughkeepsie Journal
By Martin P. Rutberg
Reports on lawsuits are not always accurate. Much of what you hear about personal injury law is misleading. It seems in style to say fraudulent claims are common, the jury system doesn't work and there are too many lawsuits.
Truth is, fraudulent claims are rare: Most people who sue have good reason. Jurors don't award compensation
for nothing. There is no "litigation explosion."
No part of the legal system more protects ordinary people than personal injury law and our juries.
The system works better than the headlines suggest. Newspapers report the occasional "big verdict" without
enough details about the evidence. They never publish the results of appeals, which often reduce
awards. They don't report thousands of cases in which juries award nothing.
Consider the recent case against McDonald's by a woman burned by coffee in her car.
The media reported "$2.7 million for hot coffee," suggesting the jury was out to lunch.
Some facts:
- She suffered third-degree burns to her thighs and vaginal area, requiring the same surgeries as fire victims.
- She is permanently disfigured
- The jury awarded $160,000 compensation (finding her partly "at fault" for placing the coffee cup in her lap—something we've all done before).
- The jury awarded $2.7 million "punitive damages," representing two days' coffee profits for McDonald's. That award was reduced to $480,000 by the appeals court.
"Punitive damages" mean the jury found reckless or intentional misconduct. There was a "confidentiality agreement," so certain details can't be known for sure. Courtroom observers indicate 1) McDonald's knew the coffee was too hot because hundreds of people were burned, but they chose to protect profits. (Apparently you get more flavor from less coffee brewed extremely hot) 2) This coffee was so hot it burned through flesh on contact.
You might disagree with the jury, but the award was far from the multimillions reported. The jury wasn't "crazy." The injuries were real; the appeals process worked. The truth was distorted because news reports omitted information.
Fewer Lawsuits Filed
Sometimes critics simply repeat false claims. Here are facts we don't hear from "tort reform" politicians:
- Americans today file fewer suits per total population than during the Colonial period (Rand study, 1991).
- Injury cases are less than 2 percent of the caseload in state courts (Rand study, 1991).
- The Congressional Budget Office says the total spent and awarded in medical negligence litigation is less than 1 percent of the nation's health-care costs.
- Injury claims are not causing congestion in the courts. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts says the vast majority of civil cases are businesses suing businesses.
- The combined annual cost of legal fees, insurance premiums, settlements and verdicts is less than Americans spend on cigarettes and half of what is spent on alcohol (Randy study, 1991).
Of course, there is room for improvement. There are inefficiencies, excessive verdicts and inadequate verdicts, not all corrected by appeals. We can improve the system, but let's not throw away constitutional rights. People talking about limits on verdicts or mandatory arbitration are taking away your right to have your case decided by fellow citizens. That puts your fate in the political arena.
When I hear someone say the system is bad, I know they never yet needed the protection it offers.
We may not see the value of the civil justice system unless we look for it. If we let them change
the laws upon which the system rests, we may not know what we had until it's gone.
Please contact Rutberg and Associates for more information.