Crash victim gets $43 million award (Ford crash lawsuit)

GoEdwardsville.com ^ | April 20, 2005 | Steve Horrell

[TheBattman]

Someone has to make that huge piece of metal, so double the price for manufacturing

THat right there, considering it would HAVE to be made by union labor, would cost $40 per hour.....

[TheBattman]

On the other hand, if I were to be sued personally by someone in a frivolous lawsuit, why should I bear the burden of the cost if I am innocent? Should the person filing the lawsuit not have to pay my expenses when I am proven not liable???

[CGTRWK]

You can't punish a corporation, you can only punish its customers and stock holders. This judgement amounts to saying every single American who buys a car from Ford this year will pay for the car, and put in an extra couple of bucks on top of that to pay for this judgement.

The life's labors of millions of engineers and industrialists specializing in literally thousands of fields have made our society the most physically mobile in history. Just about anyone willing to work can afford to have a car and travel anywhere they want to go on a whim. It's incredible. A wonder of the world. I would say it's on the short list for THE wonder of the world.

Reading about the rebuilding of Iraq, you see that basic infrastructure like electricity and water are a major problem because looters are ripping out the pipes and transmission wires to sell for scrap metal as fast as we can put them back up. And you shake your head and wonder how they could be so short sightedly self destructive.

Well, right here in America the god damned trial laywers are looting our own civilization just as effectively one bad judgement like this one at a time.

[Nov3]

People this will be changed.

[denydenydeny]

How soon until the usual suspects start blaming the lawyers, forgetting the responsibility of the idiot judge and moronic jury, and that there was a team of lawyers arguing against this absurd verdict?

I'll do it. The greedy bastards won't quit until there isn't a single job left in this country.

[dennisw]

Ford actually builds useful things while useless eater lawyers feed off the carcass of American industry and business.

[Nov3]

The verdict was high but I would be interested in the changes outlined. Were they valid? By the time a case like this gets to trial the experts will say anything they are paid for.

I will withhold my opinion till I see the details. If valid they needed to get hit and IMHO the people who made the decision need to go to JAIL.

[Iron Eagle]

Well -- truthfully -- small suits by and between individuals make virtually no impact on the economy, and are of little strain on the Courts. Usually because such suits are for such little amounts of money, they rarely proceed.

The classic suits in which Joe American might be sued individually are hard to list. Heck, even a suit against you for an auto-accident or an injury on your property will be defended by your insurance carrier -- and if you are found liable -- in most cases the payments will be made out of a policy of insurance.

The simple answer to your question is that suits involving individuals suing each other are so insignificant to the system, that such a change in our system is unwarranted. Heck, unless you have a pot of money, no one is going to sue you anyway. (Law school 101, never sue someone who is judgment proof).

Now -- having said all that -- I don't oppose reforms to our tort and legal system. Caps on medical malpractice awards are probably good. (though flexibility should exist in the caps) Damages for "pain and suffering" should be capped -- leaving tort victims with only compensatory damages for economic loss.

Rule 11 and its state equivalents should be tightened, giving Judges greater direction in using the rule to sanction lawyers who filed suits that are not well-grounded in law or fact.

I hate to say it -- but punitive damages are a good thing. If they are eliminated, big business will only be controlled by government regulation -- which is costly -- and controlled by -- big business.

Contingency cases are probably a consumers' best friend, though many so-called tort reformers target these cases. Let's be clear, no lawyer wants to waste time and money pursuing an action on contingency, unless he or she has done enough research to feel the action has merit enough to win. Contingency cases allow consumers to take on corporations with the attorney bearing the risk. In their absence, Joe American would be powerless to bear the cost of bring meritorious actions against firms represented by mega-law firms.

Anyway -- tort reform and legal reforms are great -- and I have seen my share of completely frivolous claims. (I am defending one now). But reforms should make sure that average Americans don't lose their ability to take on corporations.

[Xenalyte]

It is nice to send a lette to someone gently reminding them that my bill will be $405 dollars an hour -- if they lose.

For $405 an hour, you oughta be able to afford Microsoft Word, which comes with - get this - a spell-checker.

Or even a competent secretary.

[soundandvision]

Ford's attorney, Jim Feeney, argued again on Tuesday that it was Ingram, not Ford, who was to blame for the tragedy when she fumbled for her glasses and failed to notice that the Town Car had stopped. Ingram was ticketed for failing to slow down to avoid the accident. On the eve of the trial, she was dismissed as a defendant in the suit.

Of course she was dismissed prior to trial -- she hasn't got the bankroll ($$$).

[soundandvision]

Truest thing ever said on Freep.