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My experience is mostly in a life long ago (well....25 years ago or so) as a paralegal - primarily involving product liability cases. Objectively speaking (I just worked there as a low-paid employee so I had no real vested interest), about 25% of the claims I saw had even a scent of legitimacy.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that about half of the cases were utter jokes. I mean stuff like suing a company in a suit involving a home fire when its product wasn't even involved, just because the product happened to be located in the house, and, well, maybe they'll find out something later. Companies have to spend time and money defending themselves against this kind of nonsense and it's ridiculous.
Then there was the case of a perpetually drunk, perpetually absent employee who was terminated after being warned/suspended/counseled numerous times. He killed himself after he was fired, and his loser relatives had the gall to sue the company that employed him for "wrongful death." The company actually settled (to my disgust) because it was a plant in a small town and they didn't want the bad publicity. Absolutely sickening.
Then there's the "Fybromyalgia" scam. A complete crock of a non-illness. Basically, whenever somebody claims to be hurting and they can't figure out why, they call it "Fybromyalgia." Lots of doctors don't even believe it's a real thing, much less something that can be induced by trauma. Yet every year, people sue for accident-induced "fybromyalgia" and win. There are doctors who basically make their living giving depositions in support of these trauma-induced "fybromalgia" claims.
The whole system is a joke. We need loser-pays. I noticed you skated around that. I could accept all the BS suits, if the people that brought them had to pay court costs when they lose. You with me on that?
Hank
Since I actually have a law degree, I can tell you things have changed since you were here. That that is from viewing it much more than just 25 years.
It is sad that YOU had a bad experience but be grateful you never had to deal with cases of missing body parts or a life cut short because some doctor screwed up big time or had prior malpractice cases which should have had his license pulled but for a confidentiality agreement. Perhaps you never had nurses terrified about their jobs because they were threatended if they disclosed the doctor seemed to be drunk or worse when he came off the golf course for a delivery that went wrong.
You would also know arbitration has become a dominating force. In fact the Florida Bar President, was just commenting how the jury system in civil cases is fading to a memory due to contracts terms. But for a few select areas we already have loser pays in statute.
In civil rights cases we have defendant pays NO MATTER WHAT. (thats how the ACLU stays in lawyer fees)
We can duel anecdotes all day.
The bottom line here,
NO Giuliani, NO Problem.