Re: Settlement

["Don_Jordan" <Don_Jordan@fpm.uchicago.edu>]

At 08:32 AM 5/10/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Steven D. Rema wrote:
>     Before anyone flames me for insulting them, I'm just trying to put 
>     this into the proper perspective. Many (most?) lawsuits brought in 
>     this country have everything to do with getting "free money" and 
>     little or nothing to do with real damage or injury. Unfortunately, 
>     many such suits are settled, like this one, because the cost of 
>     winning the case is far more than just settling it. As a former part 
>     owner of a company involved in a wrongful discharge lawsuit by a 
>     terminated employee, I've been there, done that.
>     

This is a statement for which you almost certainly have no justification.
In fact, the exact opposite is probably true.  Several years ago Harvard &
Mass. General Hospital made an extensive review of all the medical
malpractice claims made against this, one of the nations finest hospitals,
for an extensive period of time.  They concluded not only that the
overwhelming majority of the claims had some merit but that the great
majority of potential claims were never brought to court.  I suspect this
is true in other areas as well.  What fraction of wrongful discharge suits
do you think make it to court?  

It is, however, probably true that the vast majority of lawsuits reported
by the media are silly.  The media has probably chosen them precisely for
that reason.  Moreover, some cases which look silly on the surface acquire
greater credibility when all the facts are revealed.  While perusing the
local law journal, I came across a notice of a suit filed by a tenant
against her landlord for slipping while getting out of the bathtub.  Being
a landlord at the time, I looked further into the case.  It seems that the
woman slipped while getting out of the tub in a panic because a rat had
just fallen through a hole in the ceiling into her bath. 

Don
Don Jordan	
The University of Chicago	
Office of Radiation Safety
Zoology Building Room 11
1101 East 57th Street
Chicago,  Illinois  60637
Tel.	773-702-6299
Fax	773-702-4008
email Don_Jordan@fpm.uchicago.edu

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