victims a-plenty

[Michael Stabin <stabin@npd.ufpe.br>]

Deborah wrote:

> Why in the world should individuals be compensated without having to prove
causation?  Isn't that what the legal system is all about?  If you don't
link exposure to causation before awarding damages, the entire system fails.
Instead, the system becomes a meaningless free-for-all, where anybody with
enough stamina is eligible for money damages,

There may be sick workers in Oak Ridge, their illnesses may be work-related,
I don't know.  But Deborah's comments are in line with much evidence about a
related illness in American society, which is an epidemic of compensation of
non-victims in the tort process.  I remember well a study conducted in 5
major northeastern US cities, in which a fake accident was staged with a
city bus, a car bumped it from behind at 5 mph.  By law, the driver had to
report it to dispatch while investigating.  Before the police arrived, an
astounding number of people (who apparently had picked up the report on
airwave monitors) had boarded the bus and got off claiming serious neck and
back injuries.  By the end of the week, hundreds of thousands of dollars of
claims were filed in each case by these "victims".  All of the passengers on
the bus (before the bump), the bus driver, and the driver of the car were
part of the experiment. The result showed that you don't have to be a real
victim to claim damages, which are usually settled for some amount of money,
which is usually large.

Ed wrote:

> The sick workers
> are not going away.  They will not be silenced.  Your seeking to silence
them
> shows prejudice.
> Don't try to silence worker dissent.
> This is still a democracy.

No one wants to silence anyone, this is reactionary; some suggestions were
made about the appropriateness of this forum for this debate. While I think
it's a reasonable forum to discuss the basics of this issue, I agree the
debate has become a tad long and is no longer focused on the science. We
should probably go to private e-mail.


Michael Stabin
Departamento de Energia Nuclear/UFPE
Av. Prof. Luiz Freire, 1000 - Cidade Universitaria
CEP 50740 - 540
Recife - PE
Brazil
Phone 55-81-271-8251 or 8252 or 8253
Fax  55-81-271-8250
E-mail stabin@npd.ufpe.br

"Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of"
- Steven Wright


************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html