Opera Nut

So personal injury lawyers are not honest? I assume you mean "Plaintiff's lawyers" that represent injured persons suing corporations in tort.

Well, every case has to have two lawyers. Do you think the insurance company lawyers who don't want to pay anybody a cryin' dime are ethical, after the insurance company lobbyists have made huge contributions to the politicians' war chests, to pamper the insurance industry and take all the teeth out of the state regulation and consumer rights?

Do you think it's ethical to buy off a State Senator like that?

Do you think it's ethical for an insurance company to charge Good Doctor A the same malpractice rates as Bad Doctor B, merely because they are in the same specialty, and NOT because Doctor A is a good doctor who is rarely sued and whose cases are thrown out on summary judgment (no facts in evidence in favor of the plaintiff)?

And Doctor B is a hack? Doctor B is also not being reprimanded or suspended from practicing medicine because the State Boards refuse to do their job and discipline drug-addicted doctors, and other assorted messers-up?

Do you think charging them the same rates is fair, especially when the state board is not doing their job in oversight of the medical profession?

Do you think that a person injured by the willful or negligent acts of another person or agent of a corporation should get nothing, and be a burden on the taxpayers hospital system?

People who scream about tort reform forget that we already have Rules of Civil Procedure in place to dismiss "dog cases"....it's called summary judgment. A good lawyer won't file a dog case to begin with, he'll tell the guy to go away. A good lawyer knows it's not worth it to file a case with a bad fact situation.

I've seen lots of plaintiffs in court who thought just because they sued somebody they could get lots of money....and this was before tort reform.

They got NOTHING, and stood their with their mouths open when they found out the system stops lying chiselers.

I've even seen car wreck cases where Plaintiff sued defendant, and the jury awarded damages to the Defendant, NOT the plaintiff, and said the plaintiff was at fault! Well, Duhhh!!

I guess you've never sued anybody for lying to you when you bought something from them or they defrauded you in some way?

Calzaer

I was sort of just pushing buttons here, actually... lawyers are fine, it's the Catholic Bishops I distrust (but only because the Catholic Hierarchy could be percieved as holding views similar in nature to the KKKs - the laity often doesn't).

Opera Nut

My all purpose rule:

QUESTION AUTHORITY

Opera Nut

Calzaer, I'm not saying all plaintiffs lawyers are good or all defense lawyers are bad; I already explained my experience above. Each case is individual.

BUT, bad lawyers make the other .001% look bad.

Calzaer

Lawyers just scare me. All the laws in the country are written so that average people have to pay the lawyers in order to know what the laws really say.

Nowhere357

Why?


Diversity is not for everyone. - Jay Leno

brighid

Well ... not really ... at least not with the Internet anymore, but most people don't understand legal language and it would (in most cases) be against better judgment to deal with important, legal matters without an experienced attorney. I am not sure that is the fault of the attorney though. They don't write the laws. I do agree that the cost for their time is unconscionable in most cases, but having gone through a paralegal program I can at least say that legal research and writing isn't the easiest job in the world. A good attorney can be priceless, but having been through the legal system for family matters I can tell you I pretty much dislike most attorneys ... but I also found out that most have at least a sliver of a conscience. I even work with a bunch of overpaid ones in my present job and the majority of them are good guys ...

B

Opera Nut

Why QUESTION AUTHORITY?
Quotes:

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.

"Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

"Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.

"Do not believe in anything simply because it is written in your religious books.

"Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

"But, after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

This is what the Buddha, Prince Siddharta Gautama of India, said 2547 years ago. (The Kalama Sutra)

==========
"Nothing is at last sacred except the integrity of your own mind. "
---Ralph Waldo Emerson

My words: Do not give someone the power to tell you what to do, just because they SAY that they are an authority. Do not give your judgment to another person who doesn't know your experiences and your heart, and your values.

This doesn't mean break laws and go to jail. It means to weigh what you listen to and don't accept it uncritically.

I have learned the hard way to not give someone else the authority to break my self-esteem and break my hope.

Calzaer

Sure they do. How many Congressmen/Senators are NOT lawyers?

sweep

I would like to add 'listen to the voice of experience. Listen to the voice that you trust the most. Listen to your friends, but only if they know 'what' they are talking about.