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Politics : The Castle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (293)	11/11/2002 5:50:50 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7936

Yes part of it is that in the past MDs had an inflated reputation among some people but that does not account for all of the increased malpractice lawsuits. And its not just malpractice suits that have become more of a problem. I really think that we need some limit on punitive damages and maybe other types of tort reform as well. Tim, I agree but I am not sure how you do it. Some cases are for real and need to be treated fairly. What do you think is a reasonable approach? ted

To: TimF who wrote (293)	11/11/2002 6:06:23 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7936

Coincidentally, I got this email during the past few days......... ________________________________________________________ Annual Stella Awards > >It's time once again to consider the candidates for the annual Stella > >Awards: > >The Stella's are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled > >coffee on herself and successfully sued McDonalds. That case inspired > >the Stella Awards for the most frivolous successful lawsuits in the > >United States. > >The following are this year's candidates: > >1. Kathleen Robertson of Austin, TX, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of > >her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was > >running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were > >understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving > >little toddler was Ms. Robertson's son. > >2. A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical > >expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. > >Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the > >car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hub caps. > >3. Terrence Dickson of Bristol, PA, was leaving a house he had just > >finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage > >door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He > >couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and > >garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and > >Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He > >subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. > >He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him > >undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000. > >4. Jerry Williams of Little Rock, AK, was awarded $14,500 and medical > >expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbor's > >beagle. The beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. The award > >was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just > >a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who was shooting it > >repeatedly with a pellet gun. > >5. A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of > >Lancaster, PA, $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her > >coccyx > >(tailbone). The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson had thrown > >it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. > >6. Kara Walton of Claymont, DE, successfully sued the owner of a night > >club in a neighboring city when she fell from the Ladies Room window to > >the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. > >Walton was trying to sneak through the window to avoid paying the $3.50 > >cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses. > >7. This year's favorite could easily be Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City, > >OK. Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On > >his first trip home, having driven onto the freeway, he set the cruise > >control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back > >and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, the R. V. left the > >freeway, crashed and overturned. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not > >advising him in the owner's manual that he couldn't actually do this. > >The jury awarded him $1,750,000 plus a new motor home. The company > >actually changed their manuals on the basis of this suit, just in case > >there were any other complete morons buying their recreation vehicles. > >Can you believe these?